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Lots of questions in there, since you previously mentioned PACE, I thought you might be familiar with the detail of it..
The primary power is here : https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/part/III sec 24.
To make a lawful arrest you need to have reasonable grounds to believe a crime is/has occurred. Then you have to have reasonable grounds as to who dun it. A good example is a burglary has occurred, you see some bloke running. You chase him down and ask him to account. You don't have a description of the burglar. The stopped person gives an account for why he is running (I'm jogging). You choose not to believe him, so arrest him. You have no grounds to suspect he is the burglar. Your arrest is unsafe.
In the case of the laptop (and I didn't conclude it was indecent images), you have (based on what has been shared)...
1. A crime - computer misuse
2. An IP address telling you where to look
3. A person whom you question
4. A device with some evidence of the crime that you can link to the person
5. arrest and interview under caution - exposing evidence that he is not your man
The arrest is unsafe if done before 4 is established. At 5, the person should be de-arrested. Any duty sol worth his onions would also seek to have the arrest record expunged as part the process of further assistance - that is a request usually declined by the Chief constable unless his/her team need your help. These records can cause problems for people occasionally.
In the case above something must have been found or shared during part 3 and 4 that suggested reasonable grounds to suspect involvement.
Asking someone to account/questioning them does not require arrest and can be done to establish grounds for arrest. Interviewing is normally done under caution and can be done with or without arrest. Its safer for the police to arrest at that point.
The primary power is here : https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/60/part/III sec 24.
To make a lawful arrest you need to have reasonable grounds to believe a crime is/has occurred. Then you have to have reasonable grounds as to who dun it. A good example is a burglary has occurred, you see some bloke running. You chase him down and ask him to account. You don't have a description of the burglar. The stopped person gives an account for why he is running (I'm jogging). You choose not to believe him, so arrest him. You have no grounds to suspect he is the burglar. Your arrest is unsafe.
In the case of the laptop (and I didn't conclude it was indecent images), you have (based on what has been shared)...
1. A crime - computer misuse
2. An IP address telling you where to look
3. A person whom you question
4. A device with some evidence of the crime that you can link to the person
5. arrest and interview under caution - exposing evidence that he is not your man
The arrest is unsafe if done before 4 is established. At 5, the person should be de-arrested. Any duty sol worth his onions would also seek to have the arrest record expunged as part the process of further assistance - that is a request usually declined by the Chief constable unless his/her team need your help. These records can cause problems for people occasionally.
In the case above something must have been found or shared during part 3 and 4 that suggested reasonable grounds to suspect involvement.
Asking someone to account/questioning them does not require arrest and can be done to establish grounds for arrest. Interviewing is normally done under caution and can be done with or without arrest. Its safer for the police to arrest at that point.