Inside Police Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects' Rights in Four Jurisdictions

This empirical study of the procedural rights of suspects in four EU jurisdictions - France, Scotland, the Netherlands, and England/Wales - focuses on three of the procedural rights set out in the EU Roadmap for strengthening the procedural rights of suspected or accused persons in criminal proceedings: the right to interpretation and translation, the right to information and the letter of rights, and the right to legal assistance before and during police interrogation. In order to examine how these procedural rights operate in practice, the book's authors spent two to five months in eight field sites across these four jurisdictions. They watched lawyers and police officers during the period of police custody, they examined case records, they observed lawyer-client consultations, and they attended suspect interrogations. Furthermore, they conducted 75 interviews with police officers, lawyers, and accredited legal representatives. In addition to producing and analyzing empirical data, the authors have developed training guidelines for lawyers and police officers involved in the police detention process for use across the EU. The project team also produced a series of recommendations for legislative and policy changes designed to ensure better enforcement of the EU procedural rights' instruments that are envisaged in the Stockholm Programme, a five-year plan with guidelines for justice and the home affairs of the Member States of the EU. (Series: Ius Commune Europaeum - Vol. 113) Inside Police Custody: An Empirical Account of Suspects' Rights in Four Jurisdictions Paperback edition by Taru Spronken