First Year as a Police Station Rep Flashcards
If you have been told little to nothing about the case
If you receive inadequate disclosure, advise your client to go no comment, throughout the course of the interview you will be given more disclosure of the case against your client.
When this happens go back into consultation with your client and take his instruction on the matter, if he has a good defence ask the police officer for another interview, if they decline give them a pre written statement and hand that to the custody sergent.
Will adverse inferences be drawn if you are given little or no disclosure
no
What should you if you feel like a suspect will be bad in an interview
Pre written statement
How could you be Waving Legal privilege in the interview and why should you not to this
You may express dissatisfaction with disclosure or express that your client is not fit for interview.
- this is fine however you should not say that as a result of these concerns you advise your client to go no comment. This is because if you give you a reason you will be inadvertently be lifting legal privilage
What does lifting legal privilege entail
Your client will be cross examined on the contents of you consulatation.
Why should you ask the APA to leave the consultation
APA don’t owe your client any legal privilege, there the police officer may approach the appropriate adult and ask them what happen during consultation.
They are entitled to tell the police everything as they do not owe the client any legal privillage
Advising on Sexual offences
-Having a working knowledge on the Sexual Offence Act 1956 and Sexual Offences Act 2003, useful to have on smart phone
What is the Young mans defence
Under Sexual offences Act 1956 your client will have a defence if he engaged with consensual sexual activity under 16 if he believed the person was 16 or over.
If the incident took place before 1st May 2004 your client must be 23 or below and must not have been charged with a life offence
How is Young Man Defence different under Sexual Offences act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 gave the young mans defence to everyone of all ages, sections 9,10,11,12 and 13.
This will be applicable if the sexual offence took place after 1st May 2004.
if the defendant is aged 12 or below they cannot give sexual consent.
Sections 16,17,18 and 19 of Sexual Offences Act 2003
The age of consent goes from 16 to 18 if someone is in a position of trust.
What does sections 30,31,32 of Sexual Offences Act 2003 outline?
consensual sexual activity with people that are likely to unable to refuse.
The test for this is likely to be unable to refuse, there is no age in this. Designed to be problematic for sexual predators
What does section 65 of pace contain
Full list of intimate samples. As they are intimate samples they require the clients written consent.
What does section 62 of pace contain
adverse inferences will be drawn if they do not provide the relevant samples.
Why would you advise your client not to give intimate samples
if they maintain that they never had sex. Adverse inferences will be drawn but better that than crucial evidence which may link your client
When would you not object to your client providing samples
when they admit that they did have sex, as admission in the interview removes the need for samples.
The samples are only needed to link them together in the act, so if there is an admission the samples don’t add anything.
what will happen if your client does not provide intimate samples
Adverse inferences can be drawn and the police can obtain non intimate samples by force such hair and fingernail scraping
What should you be careful about if there is a request for a sample of urine
Think what could be obtainable from the sample, such as alcohol or drugs. if it’s not in the client best interest for the police to know what in their system then refuse.
Intimate sample can’t be taken by force
What is a caution and a conditional caution?
Cautions or conditional cautions are available for adults and youths. Adults are classed as age 18 or over and the age of criminal responsibility is 10.
If a client accepts the caution then they’ve got to make admissions on their interview.
Conditions may be put in a caution, such as rehabilitation or attend groups or fines
What should you do if you are offered a caution?
Make sure the officer who is offering the caution has it ‘within his gift’.
If they offer you a caution and then seek to charge this is an abuse of process, check with the custody sergent or the duty inspector.
What do sections 34,35,36 and 37 of the Criminal Justice and Public order Act 1994 outline
They outline how adverse inferences will be drawn
S.34= Adverse inferences will be drawn from failure to mention facts that are later relied on at court.
S.35= Adverse inferences from failure or refusal to testify at trial.
S.36= A special warning section for failure to account for objects, substances or markers that were found at the point of arrest.
S37= failure to account at the interview for your presence at or near the scene of the crime.
Section 11 of the Criminal procedure and Investigations Act 1996
Adverse inferences will be drawn from failure or refusal to provide a defence statement in Criminal proceedings.
Will refusal to part in the identification process result in Adverse inferences
No but it might be the subject of comment at the trial that he or she did not participate in the identification process
.
Will adverse inferences be drawn if the client does not provide a sample of hand writing or allow bank accounts to be searched
Will not lead to adverse inferences to be drawn but it might be the subject of comment by way of cross examination at trial
What should you do if your client makes admissions in consultation and then begins to deny the matter in interview
wait for the appropriate time to ask the interview to suspended or wait till the end of the interview and leave
R v Caley and others 2012
“Credit comes into play on an indication of guilt at court”
If your client wants to make Full admissions and cooperate at interview it will be a valuable plank of mitigiation which on a guilty plea the court might start the sentence at a lower starting point.
The courts will see this as a positive thing as a result of those admissions those people under suspicion are no longer under suspicion
What should you do if client blames another client
You should not represent the other client and you should inform them that you have professional difficulties and advise him to seek legal representation from someone else.
If you haven’t taken instructions from the second client you can keep the first client.
If you take instructions from the second client and you learn things that will benefit the first client, then you cannot tell the first client this , as it is confidential. In this case this will be a gross breach of professional duty and you must withdraw from representing both your clients.
What should you do if a client requests that you make a phone call on their behalf
This is fine but you will have to run this by the custody sergeant first.
A request from the client that you should not let the police know his true identity
If you know his true identity and he is not prepared to reveal then you must leave.
You must also tell the police if the client is Sucidal or has HIV or Ebola
If the client requests that you are to be there during the House search
You should refuse as if they find something you will be a witness and cannot represent the client
Pace Section 41,42,43 and 44
The detention clock starts from arrival at the police station when he is wanted for questoining or it starts from his arrest if he is arrested at the police station having arrived for a voluntary interview.
Section 43 of Pace and 44 of pace
A further 12 hours. The police can then apply for a Warrant of further detention under s 43 of Pace and the magistrates can grant an extra 36 hours. 36+36 already in place=72
The police can then go back and ask for an extension on the Warrant under section 44 of pace for a further 24 hours. 24+72= 96 hours is the maximum time a client can be held for non terrorism.
Sections 47(2) and 47 (7) of pace?
These outline that a client can be re arrested if he is bailed due to new evidence, justifying the arrest.
This means that they can take him back to the police station early on the same offence and restart the clock at 0.
Is consent required for biometric samples?
The consent of the commissioner is needed unless they charge the client, in that case they samples can be retained for 3 years.
The commissioners consent is required if they arrest but don’t charge. If he is convicted samples retained for life.
If the client accepts the caution samples retained for life. If he is acquitted samples held for 3 years.
What are the rules in relation to the retention of samples for non serious offences?
Samples are retained for life if he accepts caution or is convicted. If he is aquitted then samples should be erased from database.
If the police want to remove the clients clothes to look for marks, scars or tattoos
They can be taken by force if the client refuses and there might even be an additional charge of obstruction of police/assualt of police
