PSRAS Prep · 9 min read · 2026-07-07
Giving Telephone Advice in Police Custody Cases
Not every custody matter needs immediate physical attendance, but telephone advice carries heightened risk — thinner disclosure, privacy failures, and clients who misunderstand remote limits. PSRAS candidates and working reps must know when phone advice suffices, when to travel, and how to document either path defensibly.
When telephone advice is appropriate
Low-complexity matters — minor theft admissions with clear instructions, voluntary attendance queries, or initial guidance before travel — may be handled by phone if the firm’s policy permits and clients can speak privately. Complexity, vulnerability, and serious indictable allegations usually demand attendance.
Assess whether the client can understand advice remotely. Juveniles, intoxicated clients, or those with language needs may require in-person consultation with appropriate adults or interpreters present — telephone shortcuts fail Code C standards.
PSRAS scenarios test whether candidates recognise attendance triggers — missing appropriate adult, serious violence allegation, identification dispute — where phone advice alone is insufficient.
Privacy, disclosure, and instruction-taking
Confirm the client is alone or can speak freely before discussing the case. Speakerphones in police rooms, family members translating unofficially, or custody noise breach confidentiality.
Request officer disclosure summary by phone or secure email where firms allow. Document exactly what was said, what was not provided, and that advice was provisional pending fuller material or attendance.
Take clear instructions on interview strategy — no comment, prepared statement, answer — and repeat back for confirmation. Telephone miscommunication causes more wrongful answers than in-person consultation when clients nod without understanding.
Documentation and firm escalation
Telephone advice files need meticulous notes: times, numbers called, persons present, advice given, and client responses. Portfolio assessors scrutinise remote files because they cannot infer attendance details from thin records.
Escalate to supervising solicitors when phone advice edges into areas beyond trainee competence — bail negotiations, serious conflict risks, or clients retracting instructions mid-call.
If attendance follows telephone advice, link notes chronologically so the firm sees advice evolution rather than disconnected entries.
Exam preparation pointers
Revise telephone advice ethics alongside conflicts and confidentiality articles. MCQs may ask the first action when privacy cannot be secured — usually delay advice until private consultation is arranged.
Practise one CIT scenario resolving “advise by phone or attend?” with explicit reasoning. Examiners reward structured decisions citing vulnerability, offence seriousness, and disclosure gaps.
England and Wales practice guidance; firm protocols and legal aid contract rules may impose stricter attendance duties than general principles suggest — follow your employer’s policy when it is more protective.