Dear all
Has anyone else noticed that duty slots on the Clerkenwell and Hampstead scheme have been rather quiet of late? We get the odd voluntary attendance, but very few cases where the client is in custody at Holborn police
station. Having spoken to the custody suite at Holborn, I think I may have an idea why this is. For the last few months, apparently, whenever the police refer a case to the DSCC, the DSCC ask which area the case comes under, and most custody sergeants simply
say “Highbury”, not distinguishing between Highbury and Clerkenwell, on the basis that cases from Holborn go to Highbury Corner Magistrates’ court. This means that any firms on the Clerkenwell scheme and not the Highbury scheme are likely to be missing out
on work. The custody sergeant I spoke with appreciated the issue, but said he believed most of his colleagues wouldn’t be aware of it. I’ve contacted our LAA contract manager and have asked him to raise the issue both with the DSCC and the police, but have
had no response as yet. Any of you affected by this issue might also want to contact your contract manager.
David Holmes
Dalton Holmes Gray
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