Press Release
CDS Direct to begin in October 2005
16 June 2005
Following discussions with The Law Society, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) will now implement the Criminal Defence Service Direct pilot in October 2005.
The LSC has listened carefully to the professional bodies’ concerns regarding an earlier date and decided that the objectives for CDS Direct can still be achieved with a slightly later implementation date.
The CDS Direct pilot will last for at least six months and provide advice in the following circumstances:
- When people are detained at police stations in Liverpool or Boston (Lincolnshire), regarding a non-indictable only crime, such as shoplifting or drunk and disorderly, and where the time of interview is not known when the request for a duty solicitor is made.
- When people are detained at any police station in England and Wales where the matter is restricted to telephone advice only, such as driving with excess alcohol or a warrant.
Derek Hill, the new Director of the CDS at the LSC, said: "The LSC is committed to ensuring we obtain the best value for money for the services we fund. The CDS Direct pilot will help us in this aim and will enable the CDS to explore an alternative method of service delivery.
"By providing advice over the phone, it also promises to reduce unnecessary duty solicitor attendances at police stations, which are a drain on solicitors called out in the middle of the night and the public purse. We are committed to sharing the evaluation of the pilot with the professional bodies."
The pilot has the potential to deliver a number of benefits for solicitors, the police, the LSC and, most importantly, clients, including:
- improved speed of contact with detained clients
- a reduction in the overall time that detained clients are held in detention
- increased value for taxpayers’ money
- solicitors will not be called out in the middle of the night when a client requests legal advice but no interview is planned until the next morning
Non-indictable only cases will only be passed on to a Criminal Defence Service solicitor when the police confirm to CDS Direct that a time has been set for an interview or identification.
Holders of the Police Station Qualification who are interested in taking part in the CDS Direct pilot, which will operate from an office in south London, can contact mark.coles@firstassist.co.uk.
Media information
Daniel Kellingley: Tel: 020 7759 0415
Last updated: 28 December 2006