Part V Questioning and Treatment of Persons by Police
C258 Access to legal advice. C1
C31
A person arrested and held in custody in a police station or other premises shall be entitled, if he so requests, to consult a solicitor privately at any time.
C32
Subject to subsection (3) below, a request under subsection (1) above and the time at which it was made shall be recorded in the custody record.
C33
Such a request need not be recorded in the custody record of a person who makes it at a time while he is at a court after being charged with an offence.
C34
If a person makes such a request, he must be permitted to consult a solicitor as soon as is practicable except to the extent that delay is permitted by this section.
C35
In any case he must be permitted to consult a solicitor within 36 hours from the relevant time, as defined in section 41(2) above.
C36
Delay in compliance with a request is only permitted—
a
in the case of a person who is in police detention for a serious arrestable offence; and
b
if an officer of at least the rank of superintendent authorises it.
C37
An officer may give an authorisation under subsection (6) above orally or in writing but, if he gives it orally, he shall confirm it in writing as soon as is practicable.
C38
F1Subject to sub-section (8A) below An officer may only authorise delay where he has reasonable grounds for believing that the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (1) above at the time when the person detained desires to exercise it—
a
will lead to interference with or harm to evidence connected with a serious arrestable offence or interference with or physical injury to other persons; or
b
will lead to the alerting of other persons suspected of having committed such an offence but not yet arrested for it; or
c
will hinder the recovery of any property obtained as a result of such an offence.
F3C38A
An officer may also authorise delay where the serious arrestable offence is a drug trafficking offence F4or an offence to which Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies and the officer has reasonable grounds for believing—
F5a
where the offence is a drug trafficking offence, that the detained person has benefited from drug trafficking and that the recovery of the value of that person’s proceeds of drug trafficking will be hindered by the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (1) above; and
b
where the offence is one to which Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies, that the detained person has benefited from the offence and that the recovery of the value of the property obtained by that person from or in connection with the offence or of the pecuniary advantage derived by him from or in connection with it will be hindered by the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (1) above.
C39
If delay is authorised—
a
the detained person shall be told the reasons for it; and
b
the reason shall be noted on his custody record.
C310
The duties imposed by subsection (9) above shall be performed as soon as is practicable.
C311
There may be no further delay in permitting the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (1) above once the reason for authorising delay ceases to subsist.
F212
Nothing in this section applies to a person arrested or detained under the terrorism provisions.