Safeguarding the rights of suspects in police custody

A review of the role of the legal adviser in police stations

“…The presence of legal advice, either before or during a police interview, has been found to have a highly significant effect on both a suspect's decision not to make a confession or admission, and the decision to invoke the right to silence (Moston, Stephenson & Williamson, 1992;Pearse & Gudjonsson, in press). Studies post-PACE indicate that the presence of a legal adviser has increased (Irving & MacKenzie, 1989;Gudjonsson, 1992; Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (Runciman), 1993) although considerable variation has been detected across the country (Sanders, Bridges, Mulvaney & Crozier, 1989;Dixon et al, 1990;Baldwin, 1992;McConville & Hodgson, 1993).…”

Children, Young People and Requests for Police Station Legal Advice: 25 years on from PACE

“…Another possibility could be if the police tend to deal more sensitively with children and provide reassurances about what is likely to happen. Such reassurances could include their early release from custody, although as noted above, this could discourage young detainees from having legal advice if they believe that waiting for a solicitor could increase their time spent in custody (Littlechild, 1998;Dixon et al, 1990). As children are more likely to receive a pre-court disposal than be charged, this is another reassurance which the police could give to a child and their appropriate adult (Evans and Puech, 2001;Holdaway, 2003).…”

“…Indeed, research has suggested that relatives of the accused are not always suitable to act as the appropriate adult. This is because they can adopt a 'passive and acquiescent' role in the police station, express 'hostility and distress' towards the child and put them under pressure to confess prior to the police interview (Dixon et al, 1990;Gudjonsson, 1993;Bucke and Brown, 1997;Hazel et al, 2002;Brookman and Pierpoint, 2003).…”

“…18 There were 7% of young detainees who were kept waiting for over four hours for the appropriate adult to attend (Phillips and Brown, 1998). minutes (ranging from taking no time at all to 3 hours and 15 minutes). 19 If there are long delays while children and young people wait for an appropriate adult, then the thought of there being further delays could discourage them from requesting legal advice (Dixon et al, 1990). 20 The difficulties encountered with appropriate adults, particularly in relation to access to legal advice, have led some critics to argue for a tightening up of legal protections, including for some, introducing mandatory legal advice for juveniles detained in police stations (Littlechild, 1998;Pierpoint, 2006;Kemp, 2010;Sanders, Young and Burton, 2010).…”

“…Research has identified a number of factors which can influence request rates for legal advice in police stations. Having been held in custody over a long period of time during the police investigation, for instance, can put pressure on detainees to be released as quickly as possible and thereby forego legal advice (Dixon et al, 1990;Bucke and Brown, 1997;Hine, 2007;Skinns, 2009a;Kemp, 2010). It has also been suggested that police 'ploys' are used at some stations in order to discourage detainees from requesting legal advice (Sanders et al, 1989;Kemp, 2010).…”