This circular is designed to try and assist officers who find themselves arrested or attending a police station on a voluntary basis.
Police station attendance following an arrest;
If you wish to utilise the DPF legal cover and ensure that you are represented by a suitably qualified legal representative, then you will need to ensure that you:
- Inform the custody officer responsible for your rights that you wish to have legal representation by your “own solicitor”;
- do not want to request the duty solicitor;
- inform the custody officer that you are a serving member of the MDP and;
- you would wish the Central Control Room (CCR) to be called and ask for the Federation call out to be initiated.
This will ensure that, regardless of the time of the incident, or the location, the DPF will be able to initiate the cover and instruct DPF appointed solicitors. They will contact you and provide initial advice and arrange representation.
An assessment of what is required to protect your interests can be made at that initial stage.
If you choose to utilise the duty scheme, and ask for the Duty Solicitor, it will become difficult for the DPF to change across to our representatives and this may impact upon your case.
Police station attendance on a voluntary basis
If you are contacted by the police, to attend an interview under caution, on a voluntary basis, this can normally be done by arranging a mutually convenient appointment.
In this situation, you should contact the DPF HQ immediately, so that an appointed DPF lawyer can attend with you at the police station. The lawyer can then liaise with the investigating officer to facilitate this.
If the attendance is immediate you should contact CCR and ask for the Federation call to be initiated.
Our legal cover is extremely extensive, one of the most extensive in the country, and almost all cases involving allegations of criminal conduct, will be indemnified by the Federation.
Please ensure, if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in custody or at a police station, you request that the Federation is informed, via CCR, and have that annotated on the detention record.
Eamon Keating
National Chairman
