PACE Caution
Definition
The rights caution used by police in England and Wales under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended): 'You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.'
- Jurisdiction
- England and Wales
- Statute
- Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended)
- Effect of silence
- Adverse inference possible if later relied-on facts were withheld
- Contrast
- Differs from the US Miranda warning, which carries no adverse-inference clause
Common questions
Why does the PACE caution differ from the US Miranda warning?+
Miranda protects a pure right to silence with no penalty for exercising it. The PACE caution, following the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, allows a court or jury to draw an adverse inference if a suspect stays silent on facts later relied on in their defence, so the two rights are not equivalent despite sounding similar.
When must the caution be repeated during an interview?+
Officers must re-administer it after any break in questioning, a change of interviewing officer, or when the suspect is charged, to ensure comprehension is current rather than assumed from an earlier reading.
Related terms
- Cognitive Demand
- The mental processing load a text or statement places on the reader or listener. High cognitive demand reduces accurate comprehension, particularly under...
- Comprehension Assessment
- In the Miranda context, structured testing of a suspect's understanding of each element of the warning, using instruments such as Grisso's Instruments...
- Custodial Interrogation
- Questioning by police of a person who is in custody, meaning their freedom of movement is restrained in a way a reasonable...
- Miranda Warning
- The statement of rights that US police must deliver to a suspect before custodial interrogation, required by the Supreme Court's 1966 decision...
- Waiver
- The voluntary, knowing, and intelligent relinquishment of a known right. A valid Miranda waiver requires the suspect to understand the rights and...