Represenation at the Police Station

Won’t getting a Solicitor in the Police Station take too long?
We are always being told stories by existing clients and new clients who have been in the Police Station either voluntarily for interview or having been arrested that they chose not to have a Solicitor because “it takes ages for one to arrive”.
This simply isn’t the case!
Having been arrested a suspect will be given their rights and asked if they want a Solicitor.  It is a common misconception (sometimes fuelled by the Police we are often told) that it will take ages for a Solicitor to come to the Police Station especially if it is late at night.

I won’t get a Solicitor to come out at this time of night, Will I?
All Solicitors whether it be in the remotest part of the Country or in a major City have the same obligations and targets and that is once we are told the Police are ready for interview a Solicitor or Legal Representative will attend the Police Station within 45 minutes of being asked to.
This is regardless of the time of the day or night as often the Police may decide to interview in the early hours if it is appropriate and we have staff on duty 24 hours a day to cover these eventualities.
The majority of the delay involved in getting from arrest to interview is the time it takes for the Police to investigate the allegations that have led to a person being arrested in the first place.  The more serious or complicated the allegation the longer this may take.  We have no control over this other than to monitor that the Police are acting as quickly as they can in all the circumstances.

I don’t want a Solicitor I just want to get out of here!
Upon arrest or even as a volunteer you have the right to speak to a Solicitor free of charge as many times as you like.  Once you have accepted the offer of legal advice and you should always accept this offer, a call is placed and we are contacted straight away.  This will result usually in the Solicitor being available on the phone in a matter of minutes to provide initial advice.
Not getting legal advice is not necessarily going to result in getting out of the Police Station any quicker and sometimes if it does it may be that declining that advice results in damage to your case.  There is no delay involved in initial advice on the phone.

Do I have to wait for a Solicitor to be present for interview?
No, is the simple answer but, you should!
Having someone with you to provide ongoing legal advice in interview is the safest way of ensuring you are properly advised throughout.  There is no substitute for that.  You can however, if you wish, obtain ongoing legal advice on the telephone prior to and after any interview.

I’m in a Police Station miles away.  My Solicitors won’t come all this way, will they?
Despite being based in a particular area we not only provide quality representation locally but nationally as well when required.  We will often be contacted by clients arrested in all sorts of locations up and down the Country and where we can one of our team will be on hand to travel to that Police Station or arrange for a representative more local to that Police Station to attend on our behalf. 

We always encourage people to take advantage of the free and independent legal advice we provide at the Police Station rather than risk being un-represented in the often mistaken belief they may get out of the Police Station more quickly.
We are on duty 24/7 and can be contacted at any time to attend for interview when required.