What is the key principle of detention?

• A. Detention should be used for high risk criminals.
• B. Ultima ratio → detention is a last resort.
• C. Detention must serve rehabilitation.
• D. Detention must be at the discretion of police.

Answer: (B)

Detention is treated as the ultima ratio—the last resort. The idea is to deprive someone of liberty only when it’s truly necessary to protect the investigation, prevent harm, or ensure the person’s appearance in court, and after considering less restrictive options like release on bail or conditional monitoring. This principle keeps liberty as the default and uses detention only when other measures are insufficient to address risk or flight concerns, and it should be proportionate and time-limited with judicial oversight.

The other statements don’t fit this core idea: detaining just because someone is high risk goes beyond the necessary threshold; rehabilitation isn’t the primary aim of detention; and leaving detention to police discretion ignores the due-process safeguards that require a judicial basis.