Rights and LimitsArrested and in custodyWhat are your rights in police custody in Scotland?
What are your rights in police custody in Scotland?
What you are entitled to
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You are entitled to
Safeguards the law gives you: what you can ask for, and what is to be done for you. Some apply only if you ask, and some have limits or can be delayed.
You have the right to a private consultation with a solicitor at any time you are in police custody.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.44(1)
“A person who is in police custody has the right to have a private consultation with a solicitor at any time.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You have the right to have intimation sent to another person, telling them that you are in custody and where.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.38(1)
“A person in police custody has the right to have intimation sent to another person of— the fact that the person is in custody— the place where the person is in custody”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Where a constable believes you are under 16, intimation that you are in custody and where must be sent to a parent whether or not you ask for it.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.38(2)-(3)
“Intimation under subsection (1) must be sent— where a constable believes that the person in custody is under 16 years of age, regardless of whether the person requests that it be sent,— in any other case, if the person requests that it be sent.— The person to whom intimation is to be sent under subsection (1) is— where a constable believes that the person in custody is under 16 years of age, a parent of the person,— in any other case, an adult reasonably named by the person in custody.”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-09-16
What the law says
What the law provides — the power, who can use it and when, and what follows — quoted from its source. The section above says what you are entitled to.
That right to a private solicitor consultation can be delayed in exceptional circumstances, though only by a sufficiently senior officer for a stated reason.
The decision must be taken by a constable of sergeant rank or above who was not involved in your case.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.44(2)
“In exceptional circumstances, the person's exercise of the right under subsection (1) may be delayed so far as that is necessary in the interests of— the investigation or the prevention of crime”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Telling someone where you are can also be delayed where a senior officer considers it necessary for the investigation.
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, s.38(5)
“This subsection applies where an appropriate constable considers some delay to be necessary in the interests of— the investigation or prevention of crime”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Two rights, worth using together
If you are in police custody in Scotland, you have two separate rights that exist for different reasons and are worth exercising together: a private consultation with a solicitor, and having someone told where you are.
Neither is conditional on being charged. Both apply from the point you are in police custody.
A private consultation, at any time
You have the right to a private consultation with a solicitor at any time you are in police custody. “Private” means what it says — the consultation, including by telephone where that is how it happens, is not something the police are entitled to listen in on.
You also have the right to have a solicitor present while you are being interviewed about an offence a constable has reasonable grounds to suspect you of. Unless you consent to being interviewed without one, the police must not begin questioning you about that offence until your solicitor is there.
When it can be delayed
The right to a private consultation is not absolute in timing. In exceptional circumstances it can be delayed for as long as is necessary in the interests of the investigation, preventing crime, or apprehending offenders. That decision can only be taken by a constable of sergeant rank or above who was not involved in the investigation — an ordinary interviewing officer cannot make that call themselves.
Delay is meant to be the exception, not routine practice, and it is worth asking explicitly why a consultation is being delayed and who made that decision.
Having someone told
Separately, you have the right to have intimation sent to another person — telling them the fact that you are in custody and where. If you are believed to be under 16, this must happen regardless of whether you ask for it; for anyone else, it happens if you request it.
Like the solicitor right, this can also be delayed where a sergeant or above considers some delay necessary in the interests of the investigation or preventing crime — but the same limits apply: it is a decision by a specific, sufficiently senior officer, not a routine default.
Related pages
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.