Article 8 Right to have someone informed when arrested
Where a person has been arrested and is being held in custody in a service police establishment 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 article, that he has been arrested and is being detained there.
Delay is only permitted—
in the case of a person who is in custody for a serious service offence; and
if an authorising service policeman authorises it.
In any case the person in custody must be permitted to exercise the right conferred by paragraph (1) within 36 hours from the time of his arrest.
An authorising service policeman may give an authorisation under paragraph (2) orally or in writing but, if he gives it orally, he shall confirm it in writing as soon as is practicable.
An authorising service policeman may only authorise delay where he has reasonable grounds for believing that telling the named person of the arrest—
will lead to interference with or harm to evidence connected with a serious service offence or an indictable offence or interference with or physical injury to other persons; or
will lead to the alerting of other persons suspected of having committed a serious service offence or an indictable offence, but not yet been arrested for it; or
will hinder the recovery of any property obtained as a result of a serious service offence or an indictable offence.
If a delay is authorised—
the person in custody shall be told the reason for it; and
the reason shall be recorded in writing by a service policeman.
The duties imposed by paragraph (6) shall be performed as soon as is practicable.
The rights conferred by this article on a person held in custody at a service police establishment or other premises are exercisable whenever he is transferred from one place to another; and this article 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 paragraph (1) once the reason for authorising delay ceases to subsist.