Where a person has been arrested and is being held in custody in a police station or other premises, he shall be entitled, if he so requests, to have one friend or relative or other person who is known to him or who is likely to take an interest in his welfare told, as soon as is practicable except to the extent that delay is permitted by this section, that he has been arrested and is being detained there.
Delay is only permitted—
In any case the person in custody must be permitted to exercise the right conferred by subsection (1) above within 36 hours from the relevant time, as defined in section 41(2) above.
An officer may give an authorisation under subsection (2) above orally or in writing but, if he gives it orally, he shall confirm it in writing as soon as is practicable.
Subject to sub-section (5A) below An officer may only authorise delay where he has reasonable grounds for believing that telling the named person of the arrest—
An officer may also authorise delay where he has reasonable grounds for believing that—
For the purposes of subsection (5A) above the question whether a person has benefited from his criminal conduct is to be decided in accordance with Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
If a delay is authorised—
The duties imposed by subsection (6) above shall be performed as soon as is practicable.
The rights conferred by this section on a person detained at a police station or other premises are exercisable whenever he is transferred from one place to another; and this section applies to each subsequent occasion on which they are exercisable as it applies to the first such occasion.
There may be no further delay in permitting the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (1) above once the reason for authorising delay ceases to subsist.
Nothing in this section applies to a person arrested or detained under the terrorism provisions or under section 27 of the National Security Act 2023, or detained under Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.