Section 24 - Legal custody
116.Section 24 amends the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”) to remove the need for prison officers to remain with a prisoner at all times when he or she is in the custody of the police or of a police custody and security officer, and clarifies the relationship between section 13 of the 1989 Act and section 295 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (“the 1995 Act”).
117.Section 24(1) amends section 13 of the 1989 Act, which defines “legal custody” for the purposes of that Act, to provide that:
the definition relates to prisoners and is without prejudice to section 295 of the 1995 Act; and
in addition to the existing circumstances in which a prisoner is in legal custody, a prisoner will also be in legal custody in terms of the 1989 Act if under the control of a constable or a police custody and security officer while outside a prison;
“constable” includes a constable under any part of the law of the United Kingdom and Channel Islands.
118.Section 24(2) amends section 295 of the 1995 Act to provide that it is without prejudice to section 13 of the 1989 Act.