Professor Ed Cape's article (see [2007] Gazette, 22 November, 18) raises important issues concerning the rights of those detained at the police station. He reminds us that the CDS Direct scheme does not entitle those detained to consult a solicitor, but how many detainees currently do so?


The profession has always relied on using unadmitted staff. Thirty years ago they were managing clerks, secretaries and the like. For more than a decade, the Legal Services Commission and the Law Society (now through the Solicitors Regulation Authority) have run compulsory accreditation schemes for police station representatives, trainee solicitors and solicitors. The standards of competence and performance for all three groups are the same. The difference is that in 1978, when I left university, there were 33,000 solicitors - now there are 130,000 on the roll.



If all the new joiners are to remain working professionally, the Law Society needs to help expand the market for the profession's services. Less-challenging work can rightly be undertaken by cheaper and more 'lightly trained' staff. Police station work can be very demanding, but arguing now that the work is unsuitable for the unadmitted is futile. Meanwhile, the Law Society needs to think through what its role is in establishing and maintaining accreditation schemes for the unadmitted.



Sue Nelson, Law Society Council member for the City of Westminster