First Year as a Police Station Rep

Question 1

If you have been told little to nothing about the case

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Will adverse inferences be drawn if you are given little or no disclosure

Answer 2

no

Question 3

What should you if you feel like a suspect will be bad in an interview

Answer 3

Pre written statement

Question 4

How could you be Waving Legal privilege in the interview and why should you not to this

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What does lifting legal privilege entail

Answer 5

Your client will be cross examined on the contents of you consulatation.

Question 6

Why should you ask the APA to leave the consultation

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Advising on Sexual offences

Answer 7

-Having a working knowledge on the Sexual Offence Act 1956 and Sexual Offences Act 2003, useful to have on smart phone

Question 8

What is the Young mans defence

Answer 8

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

Question 9

How is Young Man Defence different under Sexual Offences act 2003

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Sections 16,17,18 and 19 of Sexual Offences Act 2003

Answer 10

The age of consent goes from 16 to 18 if someone is in a position of trust.

Question 11

What does sections 30,31,32 of Sexual Offences Act 2003 outline?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What does section 65 of pace contain

Answer 12

Full list of intimate samples. As they are intimate samples they require the clients written consent.

Question 13

What does section 62 of pace contain

Answer 13

adverse inferences will be drawn if they do not provide the relevant samples.

Question 14

Why would you advise your client not to give intimate samples

Answer 14

if they maintain that they never had sex. Adverse inferences will be drawn but better that than crucial evidence which may link your client

Question 15

When would you not object to your client providing samples

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

what will happen if your client does not provide intimate samples

Answer 16

Adverse inferences can be drawn and the police can obtain non intimate samples by force such hair and fingernail scraping

Question 17

What should you be careful about if there is a request for a sample of urine

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is a caution and a conditional caution?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

What should you do if you are offered a caution?

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

What do sections 34,35,36 and 37 of the Criminal Justice and Public order Act 1994 outline

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

Section 11 of the Criminal procedure and Investigations Act 1996

Answer 21

Adverse inferences will be drawn from failure or refusal to provide a defence statement in Criminal proceedings.

Question 22

Will refusal to part in the identification process result in Adverse inferences

Answer 22

No but it might be the subject of comment at the trial that he or she did not participate in the identification process
.

Question 23

Will adverse inferences be drawn if the client does not provide a sample of hand writing or allow bank accounts to be searched

Answer 23

Will not lead to adverse inferences to be drawn but it might be the subject of comment by way of cross examination at trial

Question 24

What should you do if your client makes admissions in consultation and then begins to deny the matter in interview

Answer 24

wait for the appropriate time to ask the interview to suspended or wait till the end of the interview and leave

Question 25

R v Caley and others 2012

Answer 25

“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

Question 26

What should you do if client blames another client

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

What should you do if a client requests that you make a phone call on their behalf

Answer 27

This is fine but you will have to run this by the custody sergeant first.

Question 28

A request from the client that you should not let the police know his true identity

Answer 28

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

Question 29

If the client requests that you are to be there during the House search

Answer 29

You should refuse as if they find something you will be a witness and cannot represent the client

Question 30

Pace Section 41,42,43 and 44

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

Section 43 of Pace and 44 of pace

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

Sections 47(2) and 47 (7) of pace?

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

Is consent required for biometric samples?

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

What are the rules in relation to the retention of samples for non serious offences?

Answer 34

Samples are retained for life if he accepts caution or is convicted. If he is aquitted then samples should be erased from database.

Question 35

If the police want to remove the clients clothes to look for marks, scars or tattoos

Answer 35

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