The Right to Legal Advice in Police Custody
What the right to legal advice actually gives you
Anyone arrested or detained in England and Wales has the right to consult a solicitor free of charge, at any time, under section 58 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. This is the right people usually mean when they talk about the right to legal advice under PACE. It applies whether you are in a police station in Blackpool, Jarrow or a custody suite in Edmonton, and it applies whether you plan to answer questions or stay silent.
The right is not a formality. Custody officers must inform you of it when you are booked in, and the offer should be recorded on the custody record. You can change your mind later: if you initially decline and then ask for a solicitor, the interview should stop until one arrives. The only real exceptions are narrow — a serious offence where delaying access could lead to harm, interference with evidence or the alerting of other suspects, and even then a senior officer must authorise the delay and review it.
Legal advice at the station is paid for by the state through legal aid, subject to a means test. In practice, most people in custody qualify. You do not need to have a solicitor on retainer, and you do not need to know anyone's name. The duty solicitor scheme exists precisely for people who do not.
How the duty solicitor system works in practice
When you ask for legal advice, the custody officer contacts the Defence Solicitor Call Centre, which either reaches your own solicitor or allocates the duty solicitor for that station. Duty solicitors work on a rota, day and night, and cover both police station advice and the magistrates' court on the next working day. In busy suites, particularly in larger cities, waits of two to four hours are common; overnight and at weekends the wait can stretch longer.
What happens during the consultation
The consultation is confidential and normally takes place in a private room or by telephone. A solicitor will read the custody record, ask what happened before the arrest, and explain the offences being considered. They will talk you through the interview process and what the police are likely to ask. They are not there to judge you or to talk you into a particular account.
Where the offence is minor and the evidence straightforward, some people choose to be interviewed without a solicitor. That is a decision worth taking seriously rather than rushing. An early admission made without advice can shape everything that follows, including whether you are charged, what is said in court and how a later plea is treated. A short conversation with a duty solicitor before the interview costs nothing and rarely makes things worse.
Solicitors who regularly attend stations in areas such as Royton, or smaller towns without a 24-hour rota presence, will often advise by phone first and attend in person for the interview itself. If you already instruct a firm — a local practice you have used for a house purchase, say, or a criminal law firm in north London — you are entitled to have that firm attend instead of the duty solicitor, provided they offer police station cover.
Where the right goes wrong — and what to do about it
The most common problems are not dramatic refusals but quiet pressure. Officers may suggest that asking for a solicitor will delay your release, that it looks uncooperative, or that the matter can be sorted out with a caution. None of that removes your entitlement. If a request for advice is refused or delayed, the reason must be recorded, and you or your solicitor can challenge it. Evidence obtained after an unlawful denial of access can be excluded at trial, and courts take breaches of PACE seriously.
A second trap is the 'voluntary' interview. If police want to speak to you without arresting you, you are free to leave and free to bring a solicitor. Voluntary attendance is not a loophole that removes your rights, and solicitors routinely attend these interviews. Ask for the interview to be arranged at a time when your solicitor can be present.
Finally, remember that the police station is only the first stage. If you are charged, the duty solicitor who advised you will usually represent you at the first magistrates' court hearing, and legal aid continues to be available subject to the means test. Keep the custody record reference and any paperwork you are given; solicitors reviewing a case later — whether a criminal matter or, in some circumstances, a related complaint about how you were treated — will ask for it.
Practical points before you sit down in the interview
Take the consultation seriously and be honest with your solicitor. Privilege means what you say cannot be passed to the police, and a solicitor can only advise properly on the full picture. Write down questions if it helps; the interview may be hours away and stress affects memory.
You are entitled to see the custody record, to have someone informed of your detention, and to reasonable rest, food and medical attention. If you are vulnerable — a juvenile, or someone with a mental health condition or learning difficulty — an appropriate adult must be present, and a solicitor should be told. Juveniles cannot waive legal advice in any meaningful sense, and interviews conducted without an appropriate adult are open to challenge.
If you are considering declining advice because you believe the matter is trivial, weigh the cost of being wrong. A caution or conviction can affect employment, travel to the United States and professional registration for years. The duty solicitor scheme was built for exactly that risk, and using it is not an admission of anything.