What is a police station rep? Who attends in Kent and how I help

Who attends in Kent, and how I help

When a legal adviser comes to see you at a Kent police station, they are either a solicitor or a representative on the Legal Aid Agency’s register. Code C counts both as a “solicitor”.^[1] They come from the solicitor or firm you asked for, or through the duty solicitor scheme: the Notice of Rights and Entitlements says the DSCC will arrange advice “either from CDS Direct, from a solicitor you have asked for or from the Duty Solicitor.”^[2]

You can ask the custody officer for me by name, Robert Cashman. I attend Kent-wide, with longer travel time for East Kent, for people in custody and for voluntary interviews. If the police have asked you to come in for a voluntary interview, request representation early so disclosure can be chased before the day.

Who counts as a police station rep?

People use “rep” in two ways. Sometimes it means any lawyer who attends the police station for you. More precisely, it means a non-solicitor who is on the Legal Aid Agency’s police station register. The Legal Aid Agency’s register rules define two kinds:^[3]

• Accredited Representative: “an individual who is registered with the Legal Aid Agency following successful completion of the Police Station Representatives Accreditation Scheme.”
• Probationary Representative: “an individual who is registered with the Legal Aid Agency as such, having completed initial registration with an Assessment Organisation and not yet successfully completed the Police Station Representatives Accreditation Scheme.”

The Solicitors Regulation Authority says: “The Police Station Representatives register is regulated by the Legal Aid Agency. The aim of the scheme is to accredit non-solicitors to advise and assist suspects being held at a police station”.^[5] For the purposes of Code C, paragraph 6.12 includes registered reps in the meaning of “solicitor”.^[1]

A rep comes to the police station “by, and on behalf of, a solicitor” (Code C paragraph 6.12A). The police can check who they are. Paragraph 6.13 says the officer should consider whether the rep is “of suitable character to provide legal advice, e.g. a person with a criminal record is unlikely to be suitable unless the conviction was for a minor offence and not recent.”^[1] The register rules apply the same test: applicants “will be assessed against PACE Schedule C 6.13”.^[3]

Not sure whether I can reach the station in time? Contact me and I will tell you straight away. Firms can use the instructions page for solicitors.

Rep or duty solicitor: what is the difference?

The duty solicitor is the free option when you do not have your own solicitor. The Notice of Rights and Entitlements says: “You can ask to speak to a solicitor you know and you won’t have to pay if they do legal aid work. If you do not know a solicitor or the solicitor you know cannot be contacted, you can speak to the duty solicitor.”^[2] It explains that the police will contact the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC), and “The DSCC will arrange for legal advice to be given, either from CDS Direct, from a solicitor you have asked for or from the Duty Solicitor.”^[2]

A rep can sometimes attend on a duty case, but only an accredited one. The legal aid contract says: “Duty Solicitor Advice and Assistance, where not undertaken by a Solicitor must only be undertaken under this Contract by an Accredited Representative who is registered with us, and not by a Probationary Representative.”^[4] The register rules say the same thing for probationers: “Probationary Representatives must not take on duty cases or indictable only cases.”^[3]

You do not have to keep the duty solicitor. The contract says the duty solicitor (or accredited representative) “must inform every Client that he or she is not obliged to instruct the Duty Solicitor”. If you want another solicitor, the duty solicitor “must not act unless the named Solicitor is not available and the Client asks the Duty Solicitor to act on that occasion.”^[4] This fits the Notice of Rights and Entitlements, which says the DSCC can arrange advice “from a solicitor you have asked for”.^[2]

I practise as a solicitor through Tuckers Solicitors LLP so you have regulated representation.

What a rep does for you

Code C describes the role in Note 6D: “The solicitor’s only role in the police station is to protect and advance the legal rights of their client.” It goes on: “The solicitor may intervene in order to seek clarification, challenge an improper question to their client or the manner in which it is put, advise their client not to reply to particular questions, or if they wish to give their client further legal advice.”^[1] The Law Society Gazette reported the same “only role” wording in the Code’s notes for guidance in February 1995.^[7]

You are entitled to speak to them in private. PACE section 58(1) gives a person arrested and held in custody in a police station or other premises the right, “if he so requests, to consult a solicitor privately at any time.”^[6] The Notice of Rights and Entitlements adds: “When the police ask you questions, you can ask for a solicitor to be in the room with you.”^[2]

How a rep gets to you

If you are in custody, ask the custody officer for legal advice. Code C Note 6B says: “When a detainee asks for free legal advice, the Defence Solicitor Call Centre (DSCC) must be informed of the request.”^[1] The legal aid contract says that, subject to limited exceptions, “all instructions for Police Station Advice and Assistance must be received from the DSCC”.^[4]

For some less serious matters, the free advice is by telephone only. The Notice of Rights and Entitlements says that in these cases “free legal advice is limited to telephone advice from qualified advisors from the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) Direct unless limited exceptions apply when a solicitor should come to the police station”. One of those exceptions is that “the police want to ask you questions about an offence or carry out an eye witness identification procedure.”^[2] The legal aid contract, which now calls this service Criminal Defence Direct, lists the same kind of exception: “an interview or an identification procedure is going to take place”.^[4]

If you declined advice at first, you can still ask for it. The Notice says: “If you tell the police that you don’t want legal advice but then change your mind, tell the police custody officer who will then help you to contact a solicitor.”^[2] Code C paragraph 6.1 and PACE section 58(1) both say you may consult a solicitor “at any time”.^[1][6]

Is it free?

Yes, legal aid advice at the police station is not means tested. The Notice of Rights and Entitlements says: “The Police Custody Officer must ask you if you want legal advice. This is free.”^[2] The legal aid contract says: “There is no Financial Eligibility Test for this Unit of Work.”^[4]

The Notice also tells you: “Asking to speak to a solicitor does not make it look like you have done anything wrong.”^[2]

Voluntary interviews

At a voluntary interview you are told that you are not under arrest, but you can still have a rep. Code C paragraph 3.21A says the interviewer must explain your right to free legal advice, including “that they may obtain free and independent legal advice if they want it”.^[1] The legal aid contract says: “The right to non-means tested legal advice arises where a suspect is to be interviewed either at a Police Station or another location”.^[4]

What a probationary rep cannot do

Probationary representatives are still completing accreditation, so the rules limit their work:

• The contract says: “A Probationary Representative must not provide Police Station Advice and Assistance on an indictable only offence.”^[4]
• As above, they must not take duty cases.^[3][4] Datalaw, an SRA-authorised assessment organisation, puts both limits this way: “Probationary representatives are only permitted to advise on own client cases with summary or either way offences.”^[8]
• They must work under a supervising solicitor. The register rules say they “must only be involved with Police Station cases that are assigned to the provider which their Supervising Solicitor is based at.”^[3] Code C describes reps as sent “by, and on behalf of, a solicitor”.^[1]