September 13, 2024
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Staff Success - Police Station Accreditation Status Achieved by Sarah Hayes & Riccardo Pagano
We are absolutely delighted to congratulate both Sarah Hayes and Riccardo Pagano for achieving police station accreditation status. Read this article to find out what this means, what they had to do to achieve accreditation, and what this means for their roles within Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers.
What is Police Station Accreditation?
One of the most challenging aspects of Criminal Defence work is assisting people who the police want to interview under caution because they are suspected of committing criminal offences. These people may be under arrest, or the police may want them to attend an interview voluntarily. The challenges arise because what happens at the police station interview can influence whether somebody is charged with a criminal offence or not, i.e. whether they are prosecuted or not. If they are charged, what happened at interview can have a significant impact on the rest of the proceedings. For example, it can influence whether somebody should plead guilty or not guilty, or, if a case goes to trial, the interview can affect whether they are convicted or acquitted.
Those facing an interview under caution, whether under arrest or as a voluntarily attendance, have the choice to be legally represented or not. Some people take the view that they have nothing to hide and, therefore, do not need to be legally represented. These people are wrong, but that is a separate subject! Those who sensibly choose to have legal representation at the police station recognise the importance of getting things right at the police station. Given the importance of what happens at the police station, it makes sense that only those who are sufficiently qualified and experienced to provide advice should be allowed to provide legal representation at the police station.
Even legally qualified solicitors and barristers are not allowed to provide legal aid representation at the police station without first achieving Police Station Accreditation status
Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers has a criminal legal aid contract, meaning we can provide free advice and assistance at the police station to those who are going to be interviewed under caution. Importantly, however, only those individuals who achieve Police Station Accreditation status are allowed under the legal aid scheme to provide representation at the police station . Even legally qualified solicitors and barristers are not allowed to provide legal aid representation at the police station without first achieving Police Station Accreditation status.
What is Involved in Achieving Police Station Accreditation?
Understandably, the accreditation process is lengthy and difficult. It is overseen by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the body responsible for the regulation of solicitors) and there is a complex and involved competence framework. In other words, there are a number of standards that have to be met before accreditation is achieved. For those of you who are interested, it is worth having a look a the framework to see the level at which somebody who has attained police station accreditation is required to perform. The framework can be accessed here: Police Station Accreditation Scheme Detailed Assessment Standards.
The accreditation process is administered by one of two external bodies: Datalaw and Cardiff University. The process is the same, irrespective of which provider is used. To achieve accreditation, a candidate has to:
- Pass a written exam demonstrating their understanding of Criminal Law (solicitors and barristers are exempt from this exam)
- Have a Supervising Solicitor who is qualified as a Duty Solicitor;
- Produce a detailed written portfolio of four attendances at police station interviews with the Supervising Solicitor (known as Part A). These portfolio write-ups are usually 6-8 pages in length and have to address specific criteria. The four attendances are made up of:
- Two observations of the Supervising Solicitor;
- Two supervised attendances at the police station with the candidate being the one to provide all of the legal advice. If the Supervising Solicitor has to intervene at any point, the attendance cannot count for the portfolio.
- Produce a detailed written portfolio of five attendances at police station interview without the Supervising Solicitor being present (known as Part B;
- Pass an exam called the Critical Incidents Test, assessing a candidate’s ability to deal with issues that can arise at the police station, including the identification and handling of professional ethics issues.
If all of this is successfully undertaken and passed within the required timeframes, Police Station Accreditation is achieved.
Congratulations to Sarah Hayes!
Sarah Hayes was employed by Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers in 2024 to train as a Police Station Accredited Representative. Sarah wants to qualify as a solicitor and came to the legal profession later in life, after managing her own business in a different field. She was awarded her LLB (Hons) Law Degree by Bournemouth University in 2024 and has been immersed in the world of Criminal Defence at Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers ever since. Sarah worked extremely hard for her accreditation under the supervision of Kevin Hill. She passed the written exam on her first attempt and then dedicated herself to learning and experiencing all that she needed to to successfully pass both the portfolio and CIT elements of the accreditation.
Sarah will attend regularly at the police station and is currently undergoing further in-house supervision to ensure she is able to represent people at the police station for the most serious of offences. One of the most important facets at the police station is gaining a person’s trust, (legal advice only being as good as the information on which it is based) and Sarah’s strengths include communicating and emphasising with clients.
Congratulations to Riccardo Pagano!
Riccardo Pagano commenced pupillage with Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers in November 2024. He will qualify as a barrister upon successful completion of a 12-month pupillage. Riccardo’s Pupil Supervisor is Sarah Hill and his Supervisor during the accreditation process was Kevin Hill. Riccardo has successfully achieved the police station accreditation within his first six months of pupillage! In what is a very busy time, Riccardo has dedicated himself to achieving this qualification, attending clients at police stations out of hours and travelling to places such as Kingston Police Station and Croydon Police Station to do so. His success is well-deserved and the skills he has developed will stand him in good stead when he is ‘on his feet’ in court in his second six months of pupillage.
It is somewhat unusual for a Pupil Barrister to attain Police Station Accreditation!
It is somewhat unusual for a Pupil Barrister to attain Police Station Accreditation! As Pupil Barristers are not allowed to undertake advocacy in the first six months, in a traditional Chambers pupillage a lot of time is spent shadowing others. Whilst shadowing is an important element of our pupillage, all of our Pupil Barristers commence the police station accreditation process in their first six months of pupillage (the non-practising period). This provides them with a unique opportunity to gain real life experience advising clients in a pressured situation. There are so many skills a future advocate can start to hone by learning how to deal with police station interviews, such as, becoming adept at gathering disclosure from an investigating police officer, obtaining instructions from clients, considering and applying the information to the elements of the offence, making representations on bail, reviewing whether the client’s rights at the police station have been protected, considering whether the police have complied with the PACE Codes etc etc.
Whilst a barrister would not usually attend at the police station once undertaking Crown Court trials, gaining a thorough grounding at the police station gives them a much better understanding of what happens there than would otherwise be the case. Their lived experience of the application of the PACE Codes will enhance their ability to identify and deal with a number of important issues, for example, the admissibility of interviews under caution at trial.
Hill Twine Solicitors & Barristers is very proud of Sarah Hayes and Riccardo Pagano for obtaining the police station accreditation, achieved after a lot of hard work and commitment. We are excited to see what the future holds for both of them.
If you have any questions or need advice