Rights of suspects
Section 31 – Information to be given before interview
85.Section 31 applies to a person who is either in police custody (defined in section 64) or has voluntarily attended a police station, or other place, for the purpose of being interviewed by the police.
86.It requires a constable to inform a person suspected of committing an offence of their rights at the most one hour before any interview commences. These rights are:
the right to be informed of the general nature of that offence,
the right not to say anything other than to provide the person’s name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality;
the right to have a solicitor present during any interview; and
if the person is being held in police custody, the rights detailed in Chapter 5, namely: the right to have another person informed that the person is in custody, the right to have a solicitor informed that the person is in custody and the person’s right of access to a solicitor whilst in custody.
87.Subsection (3) provides that if a person has already exercised their right to have another person or solicitor informed of their custody, then the police are not required to inform the person of these rights a second time.
88.For the purpose of this section, a constable is not to be regarded as interviewing a person about an offence merely by asking for the person’s name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality. As such, a constable does not have to inform the person of their rights, as detailed at subsection (2), before asking the person for these details.
89.Subsection (5) provides that, if a person is being interviewed as authorised by section 35 of the Act (which permits the court to authorise a constable to question someone who has been officially accused of an offence), the person must be told before the start of the interview about any conditions attached by the court when authorising the questioning. This will always include a specified period of time for which questioning is authorised, and may also include conditions imposed by the court to ensure that allowing the questioning is not unfair.
Section 32 – Right to have solicitor present
90.This section provides for the right of a person reasonably suspected of committing an offence to have a solicitor present during police interview. It applies to a person who is either in police custody or has voluntarily attended a police station, or other place, for the purpose of being interviewed by a constable.
91.Section 32(3) provides that unless a person has consented to be interviewed without a solicitor present, a constable must not start to interview the person about the alleged offence until a solicitor is present and must not deny the solicitor access to the person at any time during interview.
92.Under subsection (4), a constable may in exceptional circumstances start to interview the person without a solicitor present if satisfied it is necessary to interview the person without delay in the interests of the investigation or prevention of crime, or the apprehension of offenders. This is a high test and may only be authorised by a constable of the rank of sergeant or above who has not been involved in the investigation of the offence about which the person is to be interviewed. If a solicitor becomes available during such time as the police are interviewing a person, the solicitor must be allowed access to that person.
93.For the purpose of this section, a constable is not to be regarded as interviewing a person about an offence merely by asking for the person’s name, address, date of birth, place of birth and nationality. As such, a constable does not have to wait for a solicitor to be present before asking a person for these details.
94.Subsection (7)(a) and (b) provides for a record to be made of the time at which a person consents to be interviewed without a solicitor present and any reason the person gives for waiving the right to have a solicitor present. A person may revoke their consent at any time and in such a case the police must record the time at which a person requests that intimation is sent to a solicitor and the time that intimation is sent (section 6(2)(d) and (e)).
Section 33 – Consent to interview without solicitor
95.Subsection (2)(a) provides that a person under 16 years of age may not consent to be interviewed without a solicitor present.
96.Subsection (2)(b) provides that a person aged 16 or 17 and subject to a compulsory supervision order or an interim compulsory supervision order made under the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 may not consent to be interviewed without a solicitor present.
97.Subsection (2)(c) provides that a person aged 16 years and over and, owing to a mental disorder (as defined in subsection (6)(a)), is considered by a constable to be unable to understand sufficiently what is happening or to communicate effectively with the police, may not consent to be interviewed without a solicitor present.
98.Subsections (3), (4) and (5) provide that a person who is 16 or 17 years of age and not subject to a compulsory supervision order or interim compulsory supervision order or suffering from a mental disorder may consent to be interviewed without a solicitor present with the agreement of a “relevant person”. If the person aged 16 or 17 years is in police custody, a “relevant person” means any person who could by virtue of section 40(2) visit the person. If the person aged 16 or 17 is not in police custody, a “relevant person” means a person who is at least 18 years of age and is reasonably named by the 16 or 17 year old.