Police Custody: Legal Opinion

(asked on 28th June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the move to remote legal advice for suspects on the take up of legal advice by those detained and interviewed in police custody.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 1st July 2021

The Joint Interim Interview Protocol was developed by the CPS, NPCC, Law Society, Criminal Law Solicitor’s Association and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association as a temporary requirement at the start of the pandemic to ensure the functioning of the criminal justice system was maintained. An exit strategy from the protocol is ongoing and will continue to be reviewed in accordance with the Government’s ‘road map’ for removing national restrictions. It is for the signatories to this protocol – the NPCC, CPS and solicitors’ organisations – to determine how this should progress. Since stage 3 of the roadmap out of lockdown on 17 May, solicitors have been required to attend interviews with children and vulnerable adults in person and ensure the most vulnerable in society receive in person support.

The Home Office has been chairing a weekly operational meeting with custody partners (Independent Custody Visiting Association, National Appropriate Adult Network, NPCC, Police Federation, Law Society and others) since March 2020. This has allowed for effective communication, feedback and learning to be embedded and the operational impact of the interview protocol to be assessed on a continuing basis.

The NPCC monitor compliance with the interview protocol across force areas to ensure that detainees are providing informed consent to receive remote legal advice. ICVA and NAAN additionally provide regular feedback to the weekly meeting on the implementation of the interview protocol.

Academic research into the long term impacts of remote advice in police custody is ongoing and the Government awaits its findings with interest.

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