If you find yourself being questioned by the police, at the police station or anywhere else, and whether or not you have been arrested, you are entitled to legal aid. Even if you have initially informed the police that you do not wish to see a solicitor you can subsequently change your mind at any stage. Legal aid is completely free and everyone is entitled to receive it when they are being questioned, whatever their savings or income level.
If you are kept in custody at a police station the police are legally required to tell you why they are holding you and what your rights are. This includes entitlement to free legal advice and assistance may be obtained from crime solicitors, such as Duncan Lewis. Someone you know can be informed about where you are and you receive medical attention if you are ill, which the police will arrange for you.
If it is a less serious offence, such as disorderly conduct, you can arrange to receive legal advice by phone from Criminal Defence Service Direct, an organisation that offers free legal advice and acts independently of the police. You can also talk with the duty solicitor at the station, who is available 24/7 on a rota, choose a solicitor from a list kept at the station or ask the police to contact your own solicitor.
The longest period the police can keep you waiting for access to legal advice at the police station is 36 hours, although where terrorism is suspected this can rise to 48 hours. The police should not question you before you have received the legal advice you have requested. Remember, legal advice should always be sought if the police have actually charged you with a crime.
The police will interview you about the crime they suspect you of having committed and this interview will be recorded. They will warn you about the possible consequences should you decide not to answer their questions; this is the famous caution, familiar from countless TV detective series: ‘You do not have to say anything. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.’ If you have any trouble in understanding the meaning or implications of this statement, your legal advisor will be at your side to assist.
Should you be under the age of 17, you have to be accompanied, during questioning, by your carer, parent or guardian, who must be over 18. If you are disabled you have a right to support for the condition.
You cannot refuse permission for the police to take fingerprints, DNA samples and photographs, although for more intimate samples, such as blood or urine, your permission will be required, along with that of a senior officer. If stopped for suspected drink driving, you are entitled to speak with a solicitor, though whilst waiting for the solicitor to arrive you cannot refuse to give urine, blood or breath samples.