WARRANTLESS ARREST AND DETENTION

WARRANTLESS ARREST
AND
DETENTION

MODULE 4

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 WARRANTLESS ARREST AND DETENTION

WARRANTLESS ARREST AND DETENTION

Lesson Objectives:
1. discuss how the person is brought into the custody of law;
2. explain the purpose of warrant of arrest;
3. differentiate arrest with warrant and warrantless arrest; and
4. discuss the rules in making arrest and how warrant of arrest is executed.

Arrest
The conduct of investigation is nothing without arresting the perpetrator of the
crime. Arrest is referred to as the taking of person suspected to have committed an act
to which the law denies t as a crime into the custody to any law enforcement agencies
who has the authority to do so in order to answer queries in line with matters concerning
the commission of the crime.

Legally, the Rules of Court (Section 1, Rule 113) define arrest as the taking of person
into the custody of law in order that he may bound to answer for the commission of
offense.

Warrant of Arrest
In the course of investigation, if the identity of the person suspected to have
committed a crime was already established and the evidence of guilt pointing him/her as
the perpetrator of the crime is strong then investigators should secure a warrant in order
to arrest the person.
Warrant of Arrest is defined as a document from court ordering and directing any law
enforcer to apprehend and detain any person whose name will appear in the warrant tor
him to answer maters regarding the commission of a crime. Any person suspected to
have committed a crime can only be lawfully arrested after securing a warrant.
However, a person can also be lawfully arrested by virtue of warrantless arrest.
Warrantless arrest is defined as the arrest made by any law enforcer without the benefit
of a warrant. Arrest without a warrant is possible provided that ether of the following
circumstance is present:
1. That the person to be arrested is about to commit, actually committing, or have just
committed an act to which the law defines it as a crime in the presence of the person who
will make the arrest (in Flagrante Delicto);

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2. That the person to be arrested have committed an act to which the law defines it as a
crime and the person making the arrest have probable cause that the same person is
probably guilty of a crime. Probable cause simply means as a reasonable bases to
establish a well- founded belief that the person may nave committed an act to which the
law defines it as a crime (Hot Pursuit): and
3. That the person to be arrested 1s one who escaped from penal confinement (Escapee).
Furthermore., inquest proceeding will be done f the person was arrested without the
benefit of the warrant. This is conducted to ensure that the arrest made is legal and in
accordance with the law. Inquest is defined as the informal and summary investigation
conducted by public prosecutor in a criminal case involving persons arrested without the
benefit of a warrant to determine if the person so arrested should remain under custody
and be charged accordingly.

Rules in Making Arrest

In making arrest, the Rules of Court provides the following guidelines such that:

1. It should be made by an actual restraint of a person to be arrested or,

2. By submission of the person to be arrested to the custody of any person making the
arrest.
It must be noted that in the event of arresting the suspect allegedly to have committed
a crime, the person making the arrest should observe:

1. not to use any unnecessary force and

2. use only the force necessary to arrest the person.

Any form of violence is not allowed also, since it may cause the physical evidence to
be incompetent and therefore, inadmissible as evidence during court presentation.

Execution of Warrant
After a warrant has been issued by the honorable court, any law enforcer directed to
cause its execution shall exhaust all the remedies to arrest the person whose name
appears in the warrant.
Execution of a warrant simply means as carrying out the duty to find the person whose
name was written in the warrant and cause his arrest and detention.

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In executing the warrant, the following should be observed:

1. A warrant can be executed either during the day or night

2. The person making the arrest shall inform the person to be arrested that a warrant
has been issued for his arrest; and
3. It must be executed within 10 days from the moment it was received;

However, the person making the arrest shall proceed with the arrest of the person even
without informing him of the cause of arrest or that a warrant was issued for him to be
arrested provided that either of the following is present:

1.The person flees;

2.The person forcibly resisted; or
3. It will hamper successful arrest of the person.

Moreover, if the person whose name appeared in the warrant cannot be located or
traced within10 working days upon its receipt, the law enforcer task to execute the warrant
shall make a report to the judge who issue the same, explaining the reason/s for the
failure to arrest the person within the time given by the court.

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Custodial Investigation and Detention

Lesson Objectives:

1. enumerate the rights of the person under custodial investigation and

2. discuss the effects if these rights are violated.

Any person arrested and brought before the custody of the law is presumed innocent
until proven to be guilty. Thus, a person has the same right as any ordinary individual in
order to protect the interest of an ordinary individual as well as prevent any abuses from
law enforcers. These rights must be observed as any violations may result to the dismissal
of the case.

These rights provided by the state was originally founded in the case of Ernesto
Miranda vs. the State of Arizona such that the Court dropped his conviction for kidnapping
and rape for failure of police officers conducting the investigation to inform and recite his
legal rights prior to confession during custodial investigation.

In Philippines, the right of the person arrested is originally defined under the Bill of
Rights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution (Section 12, Article I) such that any person
lawfully arrested and under investigation for the commission of a crime shall have the
following rights:

1. Right to remain silent;

2. Right to have independent and competent counsel, preferably of his own choice, and
3. Right to know the nature and the cause of accusation against the person accused.

In addition to the above rights, the state enacted the statutory law Republic Act 7438
which provides further the process of obtaining a confession to any person detained or
under custodial such that:

1. The person detained or under custodial investigation shall be assisted by a counsel

at all times.

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2. The recital of his rights shall be in the dialect known and understood by the person
detained or under custodial investigation; and
3. The custodial investigation report shall be reduced into writing by the investigating
officer and must explained to him by his counsel before it will be signed by the same.
In like manner, any extrajudicial confession made by the person arrested or detained
shall be in writing and signed in the presence of his counsel. Take note, extra judicial
confession is a confession made by an arrested or detained person while under the
custody of law and is done outside the court.
Moreover, custodial investigation is the issuance of an invitation to the person
suspected to have Committed a crime who at the same time is brought before the custody
of law in order to answer matters regarding the commission of a crime without jeopardy
to the liability of the person for any violations he may Commit. On the other hand,
custodial investigation report is the document prepared by the investigating officer
during the investigation process containing all necessary information about the
confession of the person brought before the custody of law.

Arbitrary Detention

Arbitrary detention (Title l, Book 2, Act 3815) is a crime against the fundamental law
of the state, committed by any public officer or employee in any of the following:

1. Detention of any person without legal grounds (Article 124)

2. Delay in the delivery of detained person to the proper judicial authority (Article 125);
and
3. Delaying Release (Article 126).

In relation to arrest, any person arrested without the benefit of a warrant (warrantless
arrest) shall be released subject to the gravity of the offense he is suspected to have
committed such that:

1. 12 hours, if the person committed a light felony:

2. 18 hours, if the person committed a less grave felony; and
3. 36 hours, if the person committed a grave felony.
Any police officer who will not observe or fail to observe the following number of hours
shall be charged for arbitrary detention under article 125 of the Revised Penal Code.

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Investigative Interview

Lesson Objectives:

1. discuss the characteristics of a productive interview and

2. explain the rules in the conduct of interview.

In order to attain a productive investigation, investigators must be knowledgeable and

skilled in gathering information. Take note that information is any data gathered in the
course of investigation which will serve as a foundation in solving the case. One way of
gathering information is done through a successful interview of witnesses, complainants
or victims, and interrogation of suspects or any person accused of a crime. Normally,
however, investigator starts conducting field inquiry towards any individual upon his
arrival at the crime scene. Field inquiry simply means as the general questioning of all
people present in the crime scene. This is done in order to give investigator an idea as to
the extent of the crime committed.

Take note that interview differs from interrogation such that interview is a form of
questioning among person who have knowledge regarding the commission of a crime
while interrogation is a questioning style which involves the use of strong appeal or aura
in order to gather information among persons who may have direct involvement of the
crime. Also, interview is commonly done among witnesses, complainants and victims of
the crime while interrogation is usually done among person suspected to have committed
a crime or those hostile witnesses. Take note that this are those witnesses who are
uncooperative and do not wish to provide information necessary for the prosecution of
the case.

Additionally, investigators must do the interview the soonest time possible as this will
allow them to gather better information concerning the crime. The lesser the time between
the commission of the crime and the conduct of interview, the more accurate it will be and
fruitful for successful investigation.

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Characteristics of Productive Interviewer

The capacity to gather information relies heavily on the skills and competency of the
investigators. Take note that the skills of the investigators refer to his technique employed,
manner of approach timely decision in doing the interview while competency refers to
the knowledge earned through experience and training. Moreover, investigators must also
possess the following characteristics in order become a successful interviewer such that:

1. Self-reliance- this means that investigators must be confident in doing the interview
while at the same time conscious in listening to the interviewee. Interviewee is the person
placed under interview;
2. Adaptability -this means that investigators must be flexible in different situations and
be able to do the interview at the interviewee's convenience;
3. Perseverance - this means that investigators must endure all obstacles that may come
before the process of interviewing the interviewee;
4. Optimistic- this means that investigators must be positive in dealing all possible
interviewee's that may be called before him; and
5. Patience- this means that investigators must exert all possible effort to maintain a good
attitude in handling the interview as well as the ability to work under pressure.

Rules in Interview

Gathering information relevant to the case does not only include the skills and
competency of the investigator but as well as the proper and timely preparation in doing
interviews. Keep in mind that interviewers should be versatile or flexible in handling
different types of personality as this will allow him to gather relevant facts in line with the
commission of the crime. Some of these important things that investigators must
remember are as follows:

1. Case review- investigators must review the relevant facts about the case before
proceeding with the interview of the interviewee. This will allow him to capture all the
necessary detail while doing the interview as well as prevent the loss of vital information
to which the interviewee possess;

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2. Build rapport- this means that the investigator needs to communicate properly and
bring the interviewee to attention in establishing a good communication in order to
proceed with cognitive interview. Take note that rapport refers to the good relationship
established between interviewer and interviewee as a result of their mutual understanding
in solving the case. As an effect, investigators can do the cognitive interview wherein
interviewee can provide all the relevant facts of the case under investigation through
narration of his accounts and upon the aid of effective interviewing techniques
3. Simple question- this means that investigators should not allow the interviewee to be
confused. Confusing questions make it difficult for the interviewee to understand and
provide accurate answers;
4. Avoid implied answer- this means that investigators must not allow a question
answerable by either "yes or no". If that is the case, this will limit the perspective of the
interview and investigators may omit some important facts of the case;
5. Avoid Leading question-as much as possible, avoid leading questions as this will
redirect interviewee's mind and will focus only to matters which investigators ask.
However, this may be useful in interviewing child witness;
6. Do not ramble - this simply means that investigators should ask one question at a
time; and
7. Good closure - this means that investigators should be courteous and kind to the
interviewee as a further set of interview is possible. Do not allow interviewee to put grudge
against you.
Moreover, in dealing with multiple suspects, investigators should remember to separate
them immediately as this will create the suspects to create a strong alibi. Alibi is defined
as a form of explanatory statement made by the suspect in order to exclude him from
being investigated or to give justification for his presence or absence in a certain situation
which has a logical connection to the case.

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Interrogation

Lesson Objectives:

1. discuss the relevance of interrogation and

2. differentiate interrogation from interview.

Successful investigation of the case cannot be done without the suspect being
interrogated. Since interrogation of suspect is the usual and classic scenario done to
obtain strong information, however investigators should be skilled enough as it is
expected that the suspect will not speak anything which will implicate them to the crime
they have committed.

Preliminary Preparation

Investigators should identify himself before the conduct of interrogation and must
allow the subject to know the purpose of the same. The term subject refers to the person
who is placed for interrogation.
As discussed in the previous chapter, the subject here must be appraised of his
constitutional rights as any confession made without such appraisal will be inadmissible
as evidence in court.

Interrogation Techniques
Interrogation technique refers to the method employed by the interrogator in
questioning and eliciting relevant facts necessary for the conviction of the suspect.
In addition, investigators must employ appropriate and suitable interrogation styles
depending on the type of suspect. Some of these techniques are:
1. Strong approach -interrogator projects a hostile personality toward the subject to
create anxiety and fear in order to confess.
2. Friendly approach - interrogator manifests a sign of friendliness and offer help toward
the subject.

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Confession and Admission

Lesson Objectives:
1. differentiate confession from admission and
2. explain the effect of confession in the criminal investigation.

The main objective of interrogation is to obtain confession from the subject.

Confession is defined as the direct acknowledgement of the suspect with respect to his
participation concerning the commission of a crime. As opposed to admission, which is
defined as the acknowledgement only of some elements of the crime and is not
tantamount to confession.
In order for a confession to become valid, the following requirements must confer such
that:
1. The person making the confession must be appraised of his constitutional rights as
provided by the Miranda doctrine such that he has the right to remain silent and anything
he will say can be used against him, and be provided with an independent and competent
counsel;
2. If the person making confession waive his right, it must be done upon a valid waiver
with the assistance of a counsel. Waiver refers to a document signed by the person
making the confession renouncing all his rights as provided by the constitution; and
3. There was no third-degree use. Third degree simply means as the use of physical
force, intimidation, threat, or any other similar means done to obtain confession.
However, Miranda warning need not be applied in cases where the confession was done
voluntarily or made spontaneously such that:
1. The person was running to the police station and suddenly spoke out that he killed
a person;
2. The person who subjected to for fingerprinting or be taken handwriting sample or
doing a lineup for sobriety test;
3. Field questioning or in the crime scene
4. Roadside questioning or any traffic stops; or
5. Any other minor violations.

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