A report published by the Legal Services Commission has highlighted the crucial role played by defence solicitors in giving advice to defendants at the police station.

The study by the Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC), the independent research division of the LSC, comes as the government considers large-scale cuts to legal aid, including proposed moves to restrict funding for legal advice at the police station.

The research warns that if legal advisers are not involved in the police station, this can lead to ‘time-consuming and expensive’ trials. Early involvement of legal advisers could lead to cost-savings where weak cases are challenged in the police station rather than court, the report suggests.

Vicky Kemp, principal criminal researcher at the LSRC, said the complexities of criminal law, procedure and evidence, and the implications of sentencing discounts, mean that suspects would be ‘at a disadvantage’ in a police interview without a solicitor.

‘Without legal advice… it is anticipated that many suspects [will] not understand the complexities of the criminal law and the legal elements required in order to make a case,’ she said.

‘They are unlikely to know what to say in response to police questions without incriminating themselves, even if [in fact] no offence has been committed.’

The report shows an increase in the takeup of legal advice at the police station by those arrested. In a study in the mid-1990s, 40% of people arrested requested legal advice, compared with 54% in the study published this week.

Of those who declined legal advice, most said they did so because they did not need a solicitor, while others said they were concerned that having legal advice would delay their release from custody.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: ‘The right to access legal advice following arrest is an essential safeguard to ensure the integrity of the criminal justice process, and helps to prevent the significant human and financial costs that arise from wrongful convictions.

‘It is in the interests of the police that suspects should be represented, and defence solicitors play a vital role in this process.’

Ian Kelcey, chair of the Law Society’s criminal law committee, said: ‘One hopes the government will take great notice of this and realise solicitors in the police station perform a very useful purpose.’