As part of the Government’s plans to lower the Criminal Legal Aid bill, it is reducing the number of firms contracted to provide 24-hour Duty Solicitor cover at police stations from 1,600 to 527 across England and Wales from January 2016.
Alsters Kelley LLP, which has offices in Coventry, Leamington Spa and Nuneaton, has been providing duty rota services across the region for over 30 years.
Stefan Hunka, Member and Head of Criminal Law at Alsters Kelley LLP said, “We have a team of highly experienced fully accredited police station representatives and naturally, our concern is that this huge reduction could leave vulnerable people in the community without representation.”
The Law Society of England and Wales believes that these continuing cuts to criminal legal aid are unsustainable and could leave some parts of the country without sufficient solicitors to provide essential services.
Without proper legal representation, there may be miscarriages of justice. Criminal legal aid solicitors are vital for ensuring that anyone accused of a crime is fairly dealt with.
If you do require representation at the police station, you do not have to use the duty solicitor scheme. You can ask for Alsters Kelley and the police will arrange for us to be contacted so we can attend to represent you. There is no charge for this service as advice and assistance at the police station is covered by Legal Aid.
In the meantime, our team will continue to represent clients and provide specialist advice, assistance and representation in relation to all types of criminal offences, from the very minor to the most serious both at the police station and at Court.
The new duty provider crime contracts are due to start on 11th January 2016.
For further information on the Crime team at Alsters Kelley LLP please visit their website www.alsterskelley.com
Please call 02477 710 241 to speak to a member of the team and to make an appointment with one of our criminal lawyers at any of our six offices.
