ABSTRACT
In recent years a range of detention regimes have relied upon discretionary authority as the mechanism for determining where and for how long certain people are detained. Examples include detention regimes for refugees and asylum seekers; detention without charge of terrorism suspects; and control orders which, in the UK, can entail constant surveillance and limits on movement of an individual suspected of certain activities. Many of these regimes have been a response to problems that fall beyond the traditional scope of criminal justice, particularly in terms of potential, rather than demonstrated, dangerousness. Notably, none of them has seen detention as a response to a criminal conviction. In each case, the use of detention has been justified on the basis of protecting the public.
