Ben Ward (London, HRW): In the renewed bid by the police to extend the 28 day pre-charge detention time limit for those suspected of terrorism, hearts and minds appear to have been forgotten. Leave aside the fact that in February John Reid said that there had yet to be a case where more than 28 days was required to gather the necessary evidence. Listening to the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation advocate for what amounts to judicially supervised internment, one might be left with the impression that this is a win-win situation. Custody time limits would be set aside in complex terrorism investigations, and instead a "senior" judge would decide. Flexible and fair, they suggested.
But time limits are there to safeguard the rights of suspects. Judges are likely to err on the side of caution when it comes to matters of national security if the police say a suspect poses a threat and their detention is necessary while investigations continue. Without time limits "not a day longer than necessary" creates the prospect of Muslim men and women being detained in Britain for months without charge. We should not forget that the current 28 days period is already the longest in the European Union.
If arrests under the Terrorism Act 2000 are any guide, many of those detained for extended periods will eventually be released without charge. The experience of internment in Northern Ireland confirms what should be obvious. Such a policy will be immensely damaging to the Prime Minister's "battle of hearts of minds," and the government's agenda to prevent radicalization and recruitment. If it reduces the willingness of Muslim communities to cooperate with the police, it will make us less safe. To the extent that there are genuine concerns about the time needed to complete investigations, it would be far better to look at post-charge questioning with effective safeguards.
