If you’re arrested, you will usually be taken to a police station, held in custody in a cell until the police are ready to interview/question you.

After you have been questioned, from our experience, the police very often release you without charge, occasionally charge with a crime or police bail you to re attend the station while they carry out further enquiries.

The custody officer at the police station must explain your rights. You have the right to:

• get free legal advice
• tell someone where you are
• have medical help if you’re feeling ill
• see the rules the police must follow (‘Codes of Practice’)
• see a written notice telling you about your rights, eg regular breaks for food and to use the toilet (you can ask for a notice in your language) or an interpreter to explain the notice

You’ll be searched and your possessions will be kept by the police custody officer while you’re in the cell.

The police may question you about the crime you are suspected of – this is usually recorded. You do not have to answer the questions as this is your right but there could be consequences if you don’t. The police must explain this to you by reading you the police caution:

“You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

It is very important to have a professional and legally qualified person assist you during this crucial process. They will be able to gain police disclosure as to what the case is about in advance of the interview and then discuss options including your right to silence and potential defences available in law available. If you are worried about being questioned by the police then please have a solicitor even if you do not wish to instruct us, as it is a free service. 

The police can hold you for up to 24 hours before they have to charge you with a crime or release you. Very often the police will release you within 3 to 4 hours in terms of general criminal offences but for the more serious offences of Murder etc this process can take longer.

They can apply to hold you for up to 36 or 96 hours if you’re suspected of a serious crime, eg murder.

Furthermore the police have powers to hold you without charge for up to 14 days if you’re arrested under the Terrorism Act.

Please note if we are instructed, we continue to monitor the detention review and custody clock with the custody sergeant, inspector, police superintendent and at times before a magistrate’s court. This means we will continually and rigorously make representations for your release.

The police can release you on police bail if there is not enough evidence to charge you. You do not have to pay to be released on police bail, but you will have to return to the station on the date and time required.

You can be released on conditional bail if the police charge you and think that you may:

• commit another offence
• fail to turn up at court
• intimidate other witnesses
• obstruct the course of justice

This means your freedom will be restricted in some way, eg they can impose a curfew on you if your offence was committed at night.

The police have the right to take photographs of you. They can also take fingerprints and a DNA sample (eg from a mouth swab or head hair root) from you as well as swabbing the skin surface of your hands and arms. They don’t need your permission to do this.

The police need both your permission and the authority of a senior police officer to take samples like blood or urine, or to take dental impressions.

This doesn’t apply when they take a blood or urine sample in connection with drink or drug driving.

This information from fingerprints and samples is stored in the police database. You can obtain a copy of your police records from your local police station and can write to your local police to have your information removed from the database if an offence no longer exists or if the police process of obtaining your information was unlawful.

The Police can only question you without legal advice if you have not requested it. If requested, the police can’t question you until you have legal representation with some exceptions. You can be made to wait for legal advice in serious cases if a senior officer agrees. The longest you can be made to wait before receiving legal advice is 36 hours after arriving at the police station, or 48 hours for suspected terrorism offences. 

If you are charged with a crime you will be given a ‘charge sheet’. This sets out the details of the crime you are being charged with.

The police will decide if you:

• can go home until the court hearing – but may have to follow certain rules, known as ‘bail’
• are kept in police custody until you are taken to court for your hearing

Your first court hearing after you are charged with a crime will be at a magistrates’ court – even if your trial will be at a Crown Court later on.

You can be released on bail at the police station after you’ve been charged. This means you will be able to go home until your court hearing.

If you are given bail, you might have to agree to conditions like:

• living at a particular address
• not contacting certain people
• giving your passport to the police so you cannot leave the UK
• reporting to a police station at agreed times, for example once a week

If you do not stick to these conditions you can be arrested again and be taken to prison to wait for your court hearing.

You might not be given bail if;

• you are charged with a serious offence, for example armed robbery
• you’ve been convicted of a serious crime in the past
• you’ve been given bail in the past and not stuck to the terms
• the police think you may not turn up for your hearing
• the police think you might commit a crime while you’re on bail

If the court decides to put you on remand it means you will go to prison until your hearing at a magistrates’ court.

If you are under 18 you will be taken to a secure centre for young people, not an adult prison.