Answering Police Bail

If an investigation is ongoing then you may be bailed to return to the police station at a later date. This bail may include conditions, such as residing at a specific address or reporting to your local police station at a particular date and time. You can be re-bailed many times whilst the investigation continues.

It is possible that the police may want to re interview you to help with the investigation. Your rights are the same and you are entitled to free advice from a duty solicitor or your own solicitors [ if they hold a control from the Legal Services Commission ]. Everyone has the right to advice at the police station. Next are more reasons to be represented by a solicitor.

What if the police say I don't need one?

The police are not supposed to say this but in recent times there is an increase in cases where this has been said to detainees. If you ask them to put the statement in writing, the fact they will not should tell you that you should not rely what is said on this.

Duty solicitors will usually take between 20 - 45 minutes to get to a police station.

What does a duty solicitor do?

The Duty solicitor's role is to preserve and protect your right and advise you about the allegation and the evidential value of the evidence disclosed.

Duty solicitors must advice on whether you should exercise your right for silence based on the evidence or disclosure and ensure the custody clock us being.

No Comment Interview

The caution says, 'it may harm your defence if you do not mention something which later rely on in Court.'. This means if you are charged with an offence and the case goes to Court and you were silent in the interview, the Court can be invited to infer that a later explanation has been fabricated or imply that you are hiding something.

BUT

There are numerous reasons why you should not answer questions where no inference could be taken from silence if the case goes to Court. Many people decide not to answer questions, replying 'no comment', until they have heard the full facts and given a written statement [ pre-prepared statement ] at the conclusion of the interview process or weeks later to avoid any issue of an adverse inference.

What are the rules on detention?

A person detained at the police station must be given rest break, break to consult their legal advisor and meal breaks. You can call the custody officer to ask after the welfare of a detained person.

Detention is subject to six hourly reviews up to a maximum of 24 hours after which time further applications to detain a person may be made to the Court [ there are exceptions to this ]. Previous periods in custody are invluded in the total 24 hours [ or extended period ].

How do I get released?

When there are no more questions to ask or the detention time limits are reached, you must be released or charged. The police do not decide whether there should be a charge, this decision is made by the Crown Prosecution Service whose solicitors make the decision.

If the police no longer wish to continue the investigation, you will be discharged with no futher action. A futher alternative is that the case is discharged for summons when a decision will be taken later but you are not on bail.

Police Bail - Where there is no charge but the police want to interview again at a later date, police bail can be granted [ and negotiated ] and conditions can be imposed such residence or reporting conditions. Police Bail means you must attend on the bail date otherwise you could be committing an offence [ of failing to surrender ] and this might prevent you getting bail in future.

What happens if I don't have a solicitor?

The right to legal representation free of charge at the police station was enacted by Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the PACE codes of practice which are available to anyone detained at a police station. Anyone who is under arrest is placed in one of the most stressful situations in life whether or not they have done something wrong. It is difficult to understand how serious a matter is or how strong the evidence may be.

The procedures are usually followed by the police or investigators but it is not their job to promote your interests or to advise you. They give the caution, ask you if you understand it and proceed to ask questions, the answers to which may affect the course of the rest of your life if what you say is a confession or evidence to indicate that an offence has been committed.

Asking for legal representation is not an indication that you have done anything wrong. No one who is familiar with the process [ lawyers, policemen, politicians ] ever go into and interview under caution without representation from a lawyers. Since 2003, there is no obligation for there to be a full disclosure by the police of all the facts before an interview under caution starts. There is a balance between being cooperative as a citizen and placing yourself in a position where you have convicted yourself at the first interview in a police station.

The law gives you access to advice in a police station and it would be foolish not to take it. Duty solicitors give this type of advice on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, dealing with cases such as assaults that turn into murders where being in the wrong place and the wrong time with the wrong people result in a life sentence.