Powers of the police in Scotland
The powers of the police in Scotland, as with much of Scots law, are based on mixed elements of statute law and common law. Powers of arrest Powers of arrest in Scotland are derived from the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016. The purpose of an arrest is to bring a person who is suspected of having committed an offence punishable by imprisonment to justice, or to prevent a person who has committed an offence from continuing to commit that offence or from obstructing the course of justice in any way. Prior to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, powers of arrest and detention in Scotland were derived from common law and the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The now defunct powers of arrest under common law and statutory detention were noted by Lord Carloway in the Carloway Review as being "a peculiar, if not unique, feature of modern Scots criminal procedure". The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 was introduced in order to "modernise and enhance the efficiency of the Scottish criminal justice system." Powers of arrest without warrant The statutory power of arrest without warrant by constables in Scotland are set out in Chapter 1 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland)