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Page 1 of 30 Guidance – Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants
Page 2 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This guidance tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about the Home Office immigration enforcement arrest warrant policy. It includes advice on:
failure to appear (FTA) warrants
warrants to appear ‘in the first instance’: o sometimes you may not have arrested a suspect in connection with an immigration
offence but instead ‘lay information’ before a court o where the court agrees that the information and evidence suggests the person did
commit an offence, the court will issue a warrant to appear ‘in the first instance’
Changes to this guidance - tells you what has changed since previous versions of this guidance.
Contact - tells you who to contact for help with a specific case if your manager can’t answer your question. Information owner - This page tells you who the information owners are and tells you how the guidance can be updated. Safeguard and promote child welfare – This page explains your duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and tells you where to find more information.
In this section Changes to this guidance Contact Information owner Links to staff intranet removed
Page 3 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Changes to this guidance About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page lists changes to the ‘Arrest warrants’ guidance, with the most recent at the top.
Date of the change Details of the change
19 May 2015 Change request:
minor house keeping changes
13 January 2014 Completely revised by the modernised guidance team.
In this section Information owner Contact
Page 4 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person About this guidance If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about why you can have a warrant issued to arrest someone and about you deciding whether to charge, release on bail or release the person. The arrest As a criminal investigation officer, you have the legal power to arrest someone who:
you have identified is suspected of having committed a criminal offence
Home Office immigration enforcement is responsible for investigating Arrests can be:
spontaneous: o carried out at short notice, for example when someone has been caught with false
documents at a port, airport, or inland
pre-planned: o you must get advice from your chief immigration officer (CIO), or higher investigation
officer (HIO) equivalent o your CIO may ask you to get advice from a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
lawyer before authorising the arrest For more information on arresting a person, see related link: Personal safety training. After the arrest: deciding whether to charge, release on bail or release After you have arrested someone, your investigation progresses and you must consult with the CPS lawyer to find out if the arrested person is to be either:
Outcome Details
Formally charged with the criminal offence.
This is based on whether:
the lawyer believes the evidence you have
Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Bail Act 1976
Page 5 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
collected so far suggests the person did commit the offence
it is in the public interest to charge that person with the offence
Released on bail or remanded in custody.
Whether an arrested person has been charged with an offence or not, you must speak to the CPS lawyer for advice on whether they should be bailed to:
return to the police station (for those not charged – known as pre-charge police bail)
court (for those who have been charged – known as court bail) at a later date
When someone has been charged with a serious offence the lawyer may advise you to have that person remanded in custody and not bailed. This means they will be taken to a remand prison and not released until a court decides they:
are not guilty of the offence
can be released on bail so they can return to court later
In some circumstances, you can apply to the police custody sergeant to have certain conditions attached to someone being released on police bail, whether they have been charged with an offence or not. These conditions may include an order that the person:
must reside (live) at a certain address
surrender (hand in to the police) their passport
Released without any further action
This happens in cases where the evidence gathered proves that the arrested person did not commit the
Page 6 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
offence.
Page 7 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants If an arrested person fails to answer bail About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This section tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about what they must do if the arrested person does not answer bail and about the different types of bail. When someone who has been arrested and bailed (to either a police station or to a court), complies with the order (by returning on the due date), they are referred to as having ‘answered bail’. In some cases, the suspect does not ‘answer bail’. Then they are referred to as having ‘failed to appear’ or ‘failed to surrender’. After a defendant has failed to appear at court, you must make sure:
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The information in this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use only.
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Failure to appear warrants FTA warrants are issued by a magistrate or judge who use their powers under section 7(1) of the Bail Act 1976, see related link. They are sometimes known as a ‘bench warrant’ because the magistrates’ bench issues them. A FTA warrant then gives police officers the authority to arrest the suspect if they are traced. You must make sure the FTA warrant includes an endorsement (note) that any immigration enforcement officer can also arrest the suspect if they are traced. For more information on the endorsement wording, see link on the left: Applying for an arrest warrant after someone has ‘failed to appear’.
In this section Failure to appear: pre-charge bail Failure to appear: court bail Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Bail Act 1976
Page 8 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
The warrant is extant (live and legally in force) for an indefinite period of time until the suspect is traced or voluntarily returns to the court or police station.
Page 9 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Failure to appear: pre-charge bail About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about pre-charge bail and what happens if the person fails to answer that bail (fails to appear). In cases where a suspect you are investigating has been given police bail, they will be given a ‘bail notice’ which states they must return:
to a specified police station
on a specific date
at a certain time As a criminal investigation officer, you attend the police station on this date because you have:
liaised with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer for your case
prepared to interview the suspect when they answer bail
agreed to charge the suspect with an offence
If your investigation is progressing but you do not want to interview the suspect at this stage, you have to attend to ask the police custody sergeant to extend the police bail. But, if you do it in advance, by agreeing a bail extension with the sergeant and speaking with the suspect or their solicitor, you do not have to attend the police station. The suspect or their solicitor do not have to attend either and are informed of the bail extension by letter.
If you have agreed to release the suspect from police bail without taking it any further, because the evidence proves they did not commit the offence under investigation, you must tell the custody sergeant about your decision. Often you will attend the police station to return any seized items of property previously taken from the suspect. However, if you have no property to return then it may be easier to tell the sergeant about your decision in advance so they can cancel the suspect’s bail.
In this section Failure to appear: court bail External links Bail Act 1976
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If the suspect fails to answer bail, you can note this and start the process to get a failure to attend warrant. For more information, see link on left: Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person. If you do not attend the police station, you must contact the police station to confirm if the suspect answered bail. Some police station staff will contact you after a suspect has failed to answer bail.
Page 11 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Failure to appear: court bail About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about court bail and what happens if the person fails to appear at the court hearing. When a suspect has been charged with an offence and has been bailed (rather than being remanded in custody), they will also be given a ‘bail notice’ stating they must appear:
at a hearing at a specified magistrates’ court
on a specific date
at a certain time
This is sometimes known as ‘police to court bail’. At this point, the suspect is then referred to as a defendant. At the subsequent court hearing, the prosecution and defence solicitors who attend always discuss what will happen to the defendant after the hearing. The court considers what has been said, and either:
issues a further bail notice (‘court bail’) when the court believes the defendant needs a written order compelling them to return for the next court hearing
in serious cases, the prosecution solicitor may ask the court to consider authorising the defendant is: o given conditional bail o remanded in custody
As a criminal investigation officer, you must attend the court on this date because you need to keep a record of the court hearings. So you will immediately know if a defendant does not attend the court hearing. For more information on conditional bail and the bail act, see related link: Bail Act 1976.
In this section Failure to appear: pre-charge bail
Page 12 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This section tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about the procedure to apply for a failure to appear warrant, after a suspect or defendant has breached a pre-charge (police) or court bail notice, by failing to attend the specified police station or court. When someone who has been arrested and bailed fails to appear, they have committed the further criminal offence of ‘failing to surrender’. You must follow the processes below so a warrant can be issued allowing that person to be arrested. Failure to appear: what the police do They do not technically issue a warrant but they authorise the suspect’s arrest when the person fails to comply with a police bail notice by failing to attend a police station on a certain date and time:
this is authorised under section 7(1), and the physical arrest of the suspect (when found) is covered by section 46(a), of the Bail Act 1976 - for more information see related link
they add a ‘wanted/missing’ marker to the Police National Computer (PNC) system until the suspect is found and arrested - these are valid indefinitely and do not expire
Failure to appear warrant issued by the courts These warrants are issued:
by the court when a defendant fails to comply with a previous police or court bail notice, by failing to attend a hearing on a certain date and time
under section 13, of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, are valid indefinitely, and do not expire for more information, see related link
What you must do
In this section Correct wording for the warrant Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Bail Act 1976 Magistrates' Courts Act 1980
Page 13 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
In all cases, you must check with the police to see if they:
added a ‘wanted/missing’ marker to PNC and: o if they have not, you must do this yourself o for more information about this and the PNC services, see related link
obtained an arrest warrant from the court: o the police would not obtain a warrant unless the police think the suspect has
committed further criminal offences they are investigating o when this happens it is easier to apply for a single arrest warrant covering both the
immigration and police offences (you must communicate with the police to make sure the immigration offences are covered by the warrant)
Before the court issues the warrant, you must:
complete form MG08: Breach of bail conditions and send it to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer for your case
discuss with the lawyer whether the warrant wording needs to contain the correct wording to allow police officers and immigration enforcement officers to make an arrest -for more information see related link: correct wording for the warrant
For more information on using form MG08 Breach of bail conditions and all Manual of guidance forms, see the related links.
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The information in this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use only.
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Page 15 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Correct wording for the warrant About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about making sure the right wording is on the warrant when you want immigration enforcement officers to be able to use a failure to appear (FTA) arrest warrant, and which warrants it applies to. Usually, Home Office immigration enforcement officers do not have the legal powers to enforce an arrest using a FTA arrest warrant. But, section 125 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 permits a warrant issued by a justice of the peace (who is a district judge) to be executed (used) by ‘any person to whom it is directed…’. Once you have discussed your case with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer before the warrant is issued, you may decide it would be beneficial for an immigration enforcement officer to also be able to enforce an arrest, if the suspect is found and identified after they have failed to appear. When this is agreed, you must ask the police or court staff who are preparing the warrant to include the following endorsement: ‘any Home Office immigration enforcement officer as well as any police constable’. For more information about the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980, see related link. The following warrants give immigration enforcement officers the power of arrest, when they are appropriately endorsed:
a failure to appear warrant: o section 7 of the Bail Act 1976 o section 13 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980
a warrant to arrest ‘in the first instance’: o section 1 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980
External links Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 Bail Act 1976
Page 16 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
For more information, see link on left: Other types of arrest warrant. For more information on the Bail Act 1976, see related link.
Page 17 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Other types of arrest warrants About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about some other types of warrant which can be issued to enforce the arrest of someone. European arrest warrants (EAW) An EAW is a document issued by a court and is a legal order for one European Union (EU) member state to arrest a person on behalf of another member state. As an investigator, and after discussions with your Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer, you may decide to apply for an EAW if a defendant who has been charged with a criminal offence:
flees the UK while on police or court bail
is believed to be living in a specific EU country Issuing an EAW is the first part of the process of extraditing the defendant back to the UK. You must always contact the immigration enforcement specialist teams’ fugitive and extradition unit for advice on this process. For the fugitive unit contact details, see link on left: Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive unit. For more information about extradition and EAWs, see related link: Extradition in criminal investigation cases. Warrants to appear ‘in the first instance’ In some cases, you may decide not to arrest someone until after you have collected all the evidence you believe you could get. If, after you consult with the CPS lawyer, you decide there is sufficient evidence to show the person has committed an offence, you can apply to the magistrates’ court for permission to ‘lay information’ about the person and the suspected
Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Magistrates' Courts Act 1980
Page 18 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
offence. If the court agrees and issues an arrest warrant this is known as a warrant to appear ‘in the first instance’. Also, you may have invited someone you suspect of committing an offence to ‘voluntarily’ attend an interview so you can question them about the suspected offence. But, they may not agree to attend the interview or may fail to attend. When this happens:
you must consult with the CPS lawyer
your information must be ‘in writing’ but you will often be asked to read this information to the magistrates if the court is satisfied there are reasonable grounds to suspect the person has committed the offence then it may issue an arrest warrant, using section 1 Magistrates’ Court Act 1980 powers, (a warrant to arrest ‘in the first instance’): o provided the offence it relates to is an indictable offence (the offence is so serious
the magistrates’ court would send it to be heard at a Crown court) or punishable by imprisonment
Once the magistrates’ court issues a warrant to appear ‘in the first instance’, as investigation officer you must follow the guidance in the ‘What you must do’ section of the link on the left: Applying for an arrest warrant after someone has ‘failed to appear’. For more information about the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980’, see related link.
Page 19 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants: the fugitive and extradition unit About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This section tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about the role of the immigration enforcement specialist team’s fugitive and extradition unit. The fugitive and extradition unit sits within the immigration enforcement specialist teams unit, and is the single point of contact for all investigation team enquiries about:
the extradition of a suspect, whether: o it concerns a suspect in your investigation who you wish to have extradited
(returned) to the UK o another EU country has obtained a European arrest warrant (EAW) so that
someone they are investigating can be extradited from the UK to that country
the physical process of extraditing a suspect from or to the UK using trained extradition officers
reviewing outstanding failure to appear warrants (FTAs) and warrants ‘in the first instance’, (those where the suspect or defendant has still not been found and arrested)
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The information in this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use only.
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For more information on extradition in criminal and financial investigation cases, see related link.
In this section Outstanding arrest warrants: reviewing process Outstanding arrest warrant or PNC marker reviews: what to consider Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Links to staff intranet removed
Page 20 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Outstanding arrest warrants: reviewing process About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about the process for reviewing outstanding arrest warrants. The fugitive and extradition unit review all outstanding failure to appear (FTA) warrants and warrants ‘in the first instance’, involving any CFI cases. These reviews are done by contacting the CFI team to see if there is new information suggesting where the suspect or defendant can be found. As a Her Majesty’s inspector (HMIs) in a CFI team, it is your responsibility, as part of the criminal justice system, to do an assurance review at least once a year on all outstanding arrest warrants, to determine:
if the investigation remains ‘live’ (active), even if no further progress has been made recently: o if the case officer has left the CFI team, you must appoint a new case officer to
review the case evidence and the arrest warrant
what efforts have been made to trace the suspect
if the evidence against the suspect or defendant: o remains valid o if there is any new evidence suggesting the person did not actually commit the
offence being investigated
if the procedure in the criminal justice system bulletin, known as ‘GDC29’, has been followed: o GDC29 is a criminal justice system procedure which helps police and immigration
investigators decide whether a FTA warrant should be withdrawn - for more information, see related link
if there is new intelligence or evidence indicating the suspect or defendant has: o moved or is linked to another address or country o changed their name o died
In this section Outstanding arrest warrant or PNC marker reviews: what to consider Related links Links to staff intranet removed External links Links to staff intranet removed Downloads Links to staff intranet removed
Page 21 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
It is a statutory responsibility that all warrants are properly reviewed and if you do not do this it could:
lead to wrongful arrests and civil litigation claims against the Home Office
harm the working relationships the Home Office has with other criminal justice partners damage the Home Office Immigration Enforcement reputation
Page 22 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Outstanding arrest warrant or PNC marker reviews: what to consider About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about what they have to consider when reviewing an outstanding arrest warrant. When you are reviewing an extant (outstanding) arrest warrant, or cases where a Police National Computer (PNC) ‘wanted/missing’ marker has been added to a suspect’s PNC record, the Her Majesty’s inspector (HMI) and case officer must consider:
Area to consider What to consider
The case officer Consider if the case officer has:
considered all investigative options in trying to locate the suspect
done recent intelligence checks to find out where the suspect currently livesconsidered surveillance of the suspect’s last known home and business addresses
contacted other government departments to find out if the suspect: o has applied for a new passport o is claiming benefits at another
address o undertaken financial checks
PNC system and arrest warrant Check if the information contains:
the up to date contact details so you can be contacted whenever the suspect is located
an up to date case file summary
In this section Outstanding arrest warrants: reviewing process
Page 23 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
The offence Consider:
what kind of offence the suspect may have committedif any other criminals have benefitted from it
Key dates in the case Consider what they are, such as when the suspect was:
interviewed
bailed
charged
first known to have absconded
History of violence or using weapons Check whether:
the suspect has a history of violence or using weapons
European arrest warrant (EAW) Check whether:
an EAW has been issued
there has been sufficient contact with the European Union (EU) country that must enforce the EAW
System warnings Check whether:
they are correctly in place on all intelligence and case handling systems so others are aware the suspect is still being pursued
For more information on some of the systems you need to update, see the ‘what you must do’ section of link on left: Applying for an arrest warrant after someone has ‘failed to appear’.
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Prosecution witnesses and evidence Check if they are still available.
Current photograph Check you have a current photograph of the absconded suspect.
Page 25 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams how to cancel an arrest warrant or arrest marker added to the Police National Computer (PNC) system, after you have reviewed the outstanding arrest warrant or ‘wanted/missing’ marker. You must not withdraw an arrest warrant simply because the:
warrant was issued a long time ago
case officer has ‘moved on’ If you believe an arrest warrant is no longer necessary If, after your Her Majesty’s inspector (HMI) has reviewed an outstanding arrest warrant, you believe it is no longer valid and you no longer need to arrest the person, you must speak to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer for your case. They make the final decision about whether to apply to withdraw the warrant or ‘wanted/missing’ markers on the PNC system. You must:
record the conversation and decisions on CID
complete form MG03A: Further report to CPS for charging decision: o this is your formal record that you have asked the lawyer to make any further
decisions, such as considering withdrawing an arrest warrant o the lawyer will also use this form to record their decisions
For more information on prosecution logs, or on using form MG03A (and all MG forms), see the related links:
MG03A: Further report to CPS for charging decision
manual of guidance and forms
Related links Links to staff intranet removed Downloads Links to staff intranet removed
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The decision to remove a PNC marker can be authorised by the CPS. But they will have to apply to the courts when they have decided to withdraw an arrest warrant. Removing a PNC marker In cases where no warrant was issued but a ‘wanted/missing’ marker was added to the PNC system, you must:
make sure the marker is removed from the PNC, the Home Office PNC bureau can help you with this
contact the Immigration Enforcement specialist team’s fugitive and extradition unit For the fugitive and extradition unit contact details, see link on left: Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive unit. For further information on contacting the PNC bureau, and to read their guidance, see the related link: Police National Computer (PNC) Services. Withdrawing a warrant Withdrawing a warrant is a judicial decision, so can only be made by a magistrate or judge. If the court approves the application, to make sure the person is not unnecessarily arrested after the court has withdrawn the warrant, you must:
get a copy of the court’s order
immediately update all intelligence and case handling systems There are strict guidelines for withdrawing a warrant which are outlined in a criminal justice system bulletin known as ‘GDC29’. For more information, see related link.
Page 27 of 30 Guidance - Arrest warrants – version 2.0 Published for Home Office staff on 19 May 2015
Arrest warrants Contact About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams who to contact for more help with how Immigration Enforcement investigation teams must deal with arrest warrants. If you have read this guidance and still need more help with this topic, you must first ask the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer or caseworker who has been appointed to assist with your case, or your line manager.
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The information in this page has been removed as it is restricted for internal Home Office use only.
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Changes to this guidance can only be made by the Guidance, rules and forms team (GRaFT). If you think the policy content needs amending you must contact the criminal and financial investigation operational guidance team, using the related link: Criminal and financial investigation operational guidance inbox, who will ask the GRaFT to update the guidance, if appropriate
The GRaFT will accept direct feedback on broken links, missing information or the format, style and navigability of this guidance. You can send these using the link: Email: Guidance –
Related links Changes to this guidance Information owner External links Links to staff intranet removed
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making changes.
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Arrest warrants
Information owner
About this guidance Arrests and deciding whether to charge the person If an arrested person fails to answer bail Applying for an arrest warrant after a person has ‘failed to appear’ Other types of arrest warrants Reviewing outstanding arrest warrants – the fugitive and extradition unit How to cancel an issued arrest warrant or PNC marker
This page tells criminal investigators in Immigration Enforcement Criminal & Financial (CFI) teams about this version of the investigation ‘Arrest warrant’ guidance and who owns it.
Version 2.0
Published for Home Office staff on
19 May 2015
Guidance owner Official – sensitive: information removed
Cleared for publication by director
Official – sensitive: information removed
Director’s role Official – sensitive: information removed
Clearance date 10 January 2014
Approved for publication by
Official – sensitive: information removed
Approver’s role Official – sensitive: information removed
Approval date 29 January 2015
Changes to this guidance can only be made by the Guidance, rules and forms team (GRaFT). If you think the policy content needs amending you must contact the criminal and financial investigation operational guidance team, using the related link: Criminal and financial investigation operational guidance inbox, who will ask the GRaFT to update the guidance, if appropriate.
The GRaFT will accept direct feedback on broken links, missing information or the format, style and navigability of this guidance. You can send these using the link: Email: Guidance – making changes.
In this section Changes to this guidance Contact External links Links to staff intranet removed