The ban on police being able to question suspects after they have been charged would be scrapped in measures announced yesterday to increase the number of people being convicted.

Ministers also want to allow juveniles to be questioned in the absence of their parents or guardian.

The Home Office wants police forces to press ahead with plans for “shopping mall jails” that enable people to be held for up to four hours for offences such as shoplifting, drunkenness and hooliganism.

Proposals to allow police to take DNA samples from people facing nonrecordable offences such as speeding and littering have been abandoned by the Government, however.

The measures to reform laws protecting the public during questioning by police are intended to secure more convictions, speed up justice and reduce police red tape.

Tony McNulty, the Police Minister, said: “We have sought to further reduce police bureaucracy, making sure that the public feel confident with police accountability while ensuring that the police have the power to carry out their key duties on the front line.”

Under the proposals the 24-year ban on police being allowed to interview suspects after they have been charged, unless there are exceptional circumstances, would be lifted to allow officers to continue questioning for a further 24 hours. After that, officers would require the authority of magistrates to continue their questioning.

If a person refused to answer postcharge questions, courts would be able to draw an inference of guilt. The Government also wants to make it easier for police to continue questioning a suspect for longer before they are charged. It proposes to remove the rule that stops police from carrying out interviews when they have “sufficient evidence” to charge the person. Instead officers would be able to continue questioning until they have enough evidence for a “realistic prospect of conviction”.Courts would be allowed to draw an inference that suspects are guilty if they have refused to take part in an identity parade.

Children would be allowed to be questioned by officers in the absence of their parents or guardians, but a trained lay visitor would have to be in the room during the interview.

Ministers want police forces in England and Wales to develop “short-term holding facilities” in urban areas, popular shopping streets and shopping centres. Suspects could be held for up to four hours to allow police to establish their identity, to take a DNA sample, fingerprint or photograph, or to issue a reprimand or caution.

The facilities would enable police to process crimes such as shoplifting, large-scale public disorder and big protests without officers having to transport suspects to police stations.

A plan was put forward for a facility at Selfridges in Central London some years ago but last night a spokeswoman for the store said it had progressed no further.

Dominic Grieve, the Shadow Home Secretary, cautiously welcomed the plan to lift the ban on postcharge questioning. He said: “Having delayed introducing postcharge questioning in the area of terrorism, it is now worth seeing how this works in practice before extending it more widely.”

Mr Grieve said that the proposal for short-term holding facilities should not be used as a way to close proper police stations by stealth.

Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “The Liberal Democrats have long supported the introduction of postcharge questioning, as an alternative to increasing the maximum detention period without charge.”

Extra powers

— Ban on postcharge questioning to end

— Children to be interviewed without parents being present

— Courts to be able to draw an inference of guilt if a suspect refuses to take part in an identity parade or answer postcharge questions

— Shopping centre “jails” to hold suspects accused of low-level crime for up to 4 hours while they are processed by police

— Non-police workers such as park wardens to be allowed to detain registered sex offenders

— Police to be allowed to question suspects for longer before bringing charges

Source: Home Office

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