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Being Arrested

If you are questioned at a police station you have the right to free legal advice, at any hour, and it does not depend on your income. You can ask for the station's duty solicitor, who is available 24 hours a day, or ask the police to contact your own. The single most damaging thing people do at a police station is decline that advice to get home faster — an interview cannot be un-given. Call 0800 007 4103 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

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Free legal information, 24/7. Speak to a real lawyer about your situation, any time.

Ask for a solicitor before the interview, not after. Anything you say in interview is evidence, and a court may draw an adverse inference from failing to mention something you later rely on — which is precisely the judgement call you need a lawyer for.

Being Arrested at a glance

Free, and not means-tested

Legal advice at the police station is free to everyone questioned there

Available 24 hours

The duty solicitor scheme runs around the clock, arranged through the Defence Solicitor Call Centre

Your own solicitor instead

You can ask the police to contact a specific solicitor rather than the duty solicitor

Someone told you are there

You can have someone informed of your arrest, and see the written notice of your rights

Time limits apply

Police detention without charge is limited and must be reviewed — extensions require authority

What happens at the station

You will be booked in by a custody officer, who records why you are there and what your rights are, and gives you a written notice. You are entitled to free legal advice, to have someone told where you are, to see the codes of practice, and to medical help if you need it. Under-18s and vulnerable adults must have an appropriate adult present, and you can speak to that person privately at any time. Interviews are recorded. Your detention is reviewed at intervals by an officer not involved in the investigation, and holding you beyond the basic period requires authorisation, with longer extensions requiring a court. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

The caution, and why silence is a legal decision

The caution warns that it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. That is a real risk — but so is talking. Answering questions before you and your solicitor have seen what the police actually have is how people talk themselves into charges they would not otherwise have faced, and how innocent people give inconsistent accounts under pressure at four in the morning. A prepared written statement, or a no-comment interview, can be the right answer — or the wrong one. That judgement is exactly what the free solicitor is for, and they will see the disclosure first. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

Charge, bail, or released under investigation

Four things can follow: released with no further action, released under investigation while enquiries continue, released on police bail with conditions and a date to return, or charged and given a date at the magistrates' court. Being released under investigation is not the same as being cleared — cases can be revived many months later, and people wrongly assume silence means it is over. Keep your solicitor's details, keep the custody record reference, and tell them immediately if the police make contact again. Talk it through with a lawyer now →

If you are arrested, step by step

Ask for the duty solicitor immediatelyFree, available at any hour, and not means-tested. Say it at the custody desk.

Say nothing about the allegation until you have spoken to them privatelyGive your name, address and date of birth. That is all that is required of you.

Afterwards, write down everything you rememberTimes, names, what was said. Memory fades fast and the account matters later. Call 0800 007 4103 free, any hour — and a one-hour consultation with a UK solicitor (£145, a fixed fee) can be booked right on the call.

Being Arrested — your questions answered

Does asking for a solicitor make me look guilty?

No, and it does not delay things nearly as much as people fear. Every experienced person in that building — including the officers — would ask for one. Requesting legal advice cannot be used as evidence against you, and interviews conducted after someone has been improperly denied advice can be excluded. The people who suffer are the ones who waive it to get home an hour earlier and are interviewed without knowing what the police actually have.

How long can the police keep me?

Generally up to 24 hours from the relevant time before you must be charged or released, extendable to 36 hours by a senior officer for indictable offences, and further only with a magistrates' court warrant. Terrorism cases run on a different regime entirely. Your detention must be reviewed periodically by an inspector not connected to the case, and the custody record notes each review — your solicitor can see it.

I have been released under investigation. Is it over?

No. It means the investigation continues without bail conditions, and cases can and do come back months later with a charge or an interview request. Do not treat silence as closure and do not dispose of anything relevant. Keep your solicitor's details, and contact them the moment the police get in touch again rather than attending a further interview unrepresented.

Not sure where you stand? Find out in minutes.

Call the free hotline any time. We'll help you understand your options and, if you need one, connect you with a lawyer — anywhere in Australia, usually within the hour.