NCJ Number
121586
Journal
Research Bulletin Issue: 26 Dated: (1989) Pages: 26-29
Date Published
1989
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Based on information collected by the British Home Office Research and Planning Unit for a wide-ranging survey of police detention under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act of 1984 (PACE), this study examines how the new PACE provisions on legal advice for suspects are working.
Abstract
PACE mandates the right to legal advice for those arrested and held in police custody. Data show a threefold increase in demand for legal advice since the enactment of PACE. The legal profession has coped with this increase, albeit with some delay in the provision of advice in a minority of cases. On the police side, there is now little opportunity for interrogating a suspect who requests an attorney before any advice is given, and it is likely that the restricted power to delay access to an attorney is being used less and less. Several factors will shape future development. One is the issue of the continued capacity of the legal profession to respond to increasing demand. Another factor pertains to evidence that suspects are increasingly requesting as their "own solicitor" one they may formerly have encountered as duty solicitor. This may have implications for the time required to receive legal advice, since "own solicitors" may not be able to respond as quickly as duty solicitors. Also, making contact may be particularly difficult outside office hours. 10 references.