Suspects under the influence of alcohol or drugs must sober up in custody before being interviewed by police, under amendments to the Police And Criminal Evidence (PACE) Act.Officers have a limited amount of time to interview a detainee from the moment they arrive at a police station at the moment they lose valuable questioning hours if the suspect is too drunk to communicate properly.Amendments passed by MPs on Friday mean police won’t have to start the clock until the interviewee is in a fit state.Police will also be able to stop the clock while a suspect is in hospital and unable to answer questions for medical reasons, such as undergoing a body search.Attorney General Michael Scott, who introduced the bill at the House of Assembly on Friday, said investigation time is 42 hours, but can be extended by high-ranking police officers or the courts up to 96 hours.Mr Scott said legislators must strike the correct balance between giving prosecutors enough time to interview suspects, and protecting the rights of the accused.Shadow AG Trevor Moniz and National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief noted how complicated the introduction of PACE has been.Mr Perinchief, a former Assistant Police Commissioner, said he didn’t envy today’s police force trying to understand all the new rules.“In the old days they had to interview overnight,” he said. “Now they have more rigorous PACE requirements.”PACE, which transforms policing based on a UK model, was passed six years ago and is being implemented in phases.Mr Perinchief reflected: “This has been a tortuous process. From the day that the Governor of the day decided to embrace PACE, we knew it would not be an easy process.”Commenting on last Friday’s amendments, Mr Moniz questioned at what point the clock starts ticking when a suspect is in hospital.The new Dame Lois Browne-Evans Building, which was plagued by controversy in its construction, was built with PACE in mind.Regarding its recent opening, Mr Moniz said: “Hopefully this will be the start of a new beginning. It took too long and it cost too much money, but it’s there.”