PACE Code G • Arrest necessity

IDCOPPLAN police meaning

Arrest necessity criteria ('ID COP PLAN') — PACE s24 / Code G. A quick, source-backed reference for the UK policing mnemonic IDCOPPLAN.

Short answer

An arrest without warrant under PACE s24 requires both involvement in an offence AND reasonable grounds for believing arrest is necessary for one of the Code G para 2.9 reasons. IDCOPPLAN is the standard training aide for those necessity reasons; officers must justify which criterion applies.

Legal anchor: PACE 1984 s24(5) (as substituted by SOCPA 2005 s110); PACE Code G para 2.9(a)-(f)

IDCOPPLAN
PACE 1984 s24(5) (as substituted by SOCPA 2005 s110); PACE Code G para 2.9(a)-(f)
IInvestigation — to allow the prompt and effective investigation of the offence or of the conduct of the person
DDisappearance — to prevent any prosecution being hindered by the disappearance of the person
CChild or vulnerable person — to protect a child or other vulnerable person from the person
OObstruction — to prevent the person causing an unlawful obstruction of the highway
PPhysical injury — to prevent the person causing physical injury to themselves or others, or suffering injury
PPublic decency — to prevent the person committing an offence against public decency
LLoss or damage — to prevent the person causing loss of or damage to property
AAddress — the person's address is not known, is doubted or cannot readily be ascertained
NName — the person's name is not known, is doubted or cannot readily be ascertained

When officers use it

An arrest without warrant under PACE s24 requires both involvement in an offence AND reasonable grounds for believing arrest is necessary for one of the Code G para 2.9 reasons. IDCOPPLAN is the standard training aide for those necessity reasons; officers must justify which criterion applies.

Practical point: the mnemonic is a memory aid, not the test. Decisions still turn on the live facts and the underlying law (PACE 1984 s24(5) (as substituted by SOCPA 2005 s110); PACE Code G para 2.9(a)-(f)) — record your rationale, not just the letters.

Variants and spellings

COPPLAN is the same mnemonic without I and D — but Code G 2.9(e) (prompt/effective investigation) and (f) (disappearance) are the two most commonly relied-on criteria, so COPPLAN alone is incomplete. The Surrey Police quick guide presents it in COPPLAN-ID order; other trainers order it ID-COP-PLAN. Letter mapping is to Code G paraphrases, not the exact statutory sub-paragraph order.

Why Section includes this

Section is a fast UK police reference app for officers and student officers: offences, points to prove, PACE powers and the standard mnemonics in one offline place. Every entry in the app — including this one — was verified against the sources listed below.

What does IDCOPPLAN stand for?

I = Investigation, D = Disappearance, C = Child or vulnerable person, O = Obstruction, P = Physical injury, P = Public decency, L = Loss or damage, A = Address, N = Name.

Is IDCOPPLAN a law?

No — it is a memory aid used in UK police training. The underlying framework is PACE 1984 s24(5) (as substituted by SOCPA 2005 s110); PACE Code G para 2.9(a)-(f).

Are there variants of IDCOPPLAN?

COPPLAN is the same mnemonic without I and D — but Code G 2.9(e) (prompt/effective investigation) and (f) (disappearance) are the two most commonly relied-on criteria, so COPPLAN alone is incomplete. The Surrey Police quick guide presents it in COPPLAN-ID order; other trainers order it ID-COP-PLAN. Letter mapping is to Code G paraphrases, not the exact statutory sub-paragraph order.

Sources

DIE — Search of a person upon arrest — PACE s32 WASPS — Powers of entry without warrant — PACE s17 GOWISELY — Stop and search — information the officer must give (PACE s2 / Code A)

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