In short
In police custody, the right to defence counsel, to silence, and to notice to relatives is spoken of. The panic of a summons from the prosecution office is in a separate article.
The right to defence counsel, to silence, and to notice to relatives is spoken of.
The panic of a summons from the prosecution office is in a separate article.
The period of police custody is looked at against the statutory limit. An hour is not written from memory.
Related articles: before a statement.
While the person's liberty is limited temporarily in the police-custody process, the basic safeguards of rights do not disappear entirely. Meeting a lawyer, notice being given to relatives, a medical check, the right to silence, and the procedural safeguards in the statement process are at the centre of criminal procedure. Knowing these rights is of critical importance both for the process being conducted in accordance with the law and for the prevention of a possible loss of a right. Police custody is not a conviction. It is a stage of the investigation process.
The police-custody decision produces high stress for the person and the family. The problem most often seen in this environment of stress is not knowing in which order, and how, the basic rights will be used. Some people turn to the approach "let me sign whatever they say, let it end quickly". Some people cannot use their rights of defence effectively because they think the process is entirely arbitrary. The system of criminal procedure contains certain safeguards at the police-custody stage as well.
In busy judicial centres such as Ankara, the tempo of the process may be fast. For this reason, the planned conduct of following the rights gains still more importance. This article takes up the rights in police custody in a plain and structured way.
Definition: what does the police-custody process mean in law?
Police custody is a protective measure in which the person's liberty is limited temporarily in order for the investigation acts to be carried out. This stage:
- It does not mean a conviction decision.
- It is not a stage at which guilt became final.
- It is not an area in which the rights of defence were suspended.
The basic aim in the police-custody process is the gathering of evidence and the carrying out of the procedural acts. For this reason, public order and individual rights should be protected together. The procedural safeguards exist precisely for this balance.
Who has which rights?
The person taken into police custody has the right to treatment fitting human dignity and the right of defence, whatever the character of the accusation. The basic rights that come forward in practice:
- Benefiting from a lawyer's assistance
- The right to silence
- Notice being made to relatives
- Being given a medical check
- Procedural safeguards in the statement acts
- Checking the content of the minutes
The effective use of these rights does not happen only by saying "I know the rights". At every step of the process, conduct fitting the right should be asked for, and a record should be formed.
The process: how are the rights in police custody operated step by step?
1) Information and access to a lawyer
The accusation directed at the person, and the procedural rights, should be notified in an open manner. The right to meet a lawyer is of critical importance at this stage. Support from a lawyer is determinative for the preparation of the defence, the approach before the statement, and the checking of the minutes.
2) Notice being given to relatives
The informing of the family of the person in police custody, or of the relatives he identified, is important for the transparency of the process and for psychological support. The notification makes the following of the rights easier and keeps the person's tie with the outside world.
3) Health safeguards
Medical checks are not only a formal step. Existing illnesses, regular medication needs, and the physical state should be recorded. These records are important both for the person's health and for the assessment of possible violations of rights.
4) The statement stage
The basic points to be paid attention to during the statement:
- The questions being understood clearly
- The answers being passed correctly onto the minutes
- A correction or an addition being made if it is needed
- A signature not being put on a text that was not understood
The right to silence is also part of this stage. Which way is more suitable should be assessed according to the evidence structure of the file.
5) Following the period, and the later stage
When the period of police custody ends, the person is either released or brought before the relevant authority according to the state of the file. At the later stage, judicial control or a discussion of detention may come onto the agenda. For this reason, the acts carried out at the police-custody stage affect the continuation of the file directly.
Frequent mistakes
The mistakes most often met in the police-custody process are these:
- Acting without understanding the content of the notification of rights
- Signing the statement minutes without reading them
- Not notifying health problems
- Delaying the request for a lawyer
- Not following the matter of notice to relatives
- Neglecting the following of the period
These mistakes often produce results at the later stages of the file that are hard to remedy. A small inaccuracy in the statement text in particular can lead to large differences of interpretation later.
Legislation and procedural safeguards
The order of criminal procedure, while securing the effectiveness of the investigation, also has to protect the person's rights. This balance prevents the police-custody measure from turning into arbitrariness. The essence of the procedural safeguards is this:
- The person's rights should be notified openly
- The right of defence should be capable of being used effectively
- The safeguards of health and of human dignity should be protected
- The minutes processes should be conducted transparently
- The limits of the period and judicial supervision should be operated
In the practice in Ankara, the density of files may affect the speed of the acts. It does not change the basic standards of rights. Rights are not areas that "can be postponed because of density".
The difference between psychological pressure in police custody and legal will
The police-custody process produces high psychological stress because the person is taken out of his routine environment outside. One of the most important adverse effects of this stress is the person acting with the approach "let it end quickly, I accept whatever they say". Statements and signatures at the police-custody stage can turn into a basic reference point for the later stages of the trial.
For this reason, a sound separation should be kept between decisions taken under psychological pressure and legal will. The basic principle is this: signing without understanding, accepting under pressure, or waiving procedural rights does not generally produce the result that "the case becomes easier". It can create difficulties at the later stages.
The inclusion of the family, or of defence counsel, in the process helps to reduce the psychological pressure and to have sound decisions taken.
The right to translation and to understanding in police custody
When a person of foreign nationality is taken into police custody, or when competence in the Turkish language is limited, translation assistance is one of the basic procedural safeguards. Questions that were not understood, statements that were translated wrongly, or mistakes made because of a language barrier can lead to serious problems at the later stages.
For the use of this right:
- The language competence should be notified openly from the start
- The need for translation should be passed onto the minutes
- An explanation of the parts that were not understood can be asked for
The objections made on the ground of a language barrier or a problem of understanding not leaving a trace in the minutes makes it harder to prove this matter later.
How does the process take shape after the statement?
After the police-custody and statement stage is completed, the file can go in a few directions:
- The prosecution office may give a decision of release
- A judicial-control measure may be applied
- The person may be sent to the criminal judgeship of peace with a request for detention
The procedural requirements of each option are different. For this reason, as soon as the statement stage ends, the later stage of the file should be planned with defence counsel. Passive waiting can lead to important procedural rights being missed. The periods for objecting to measure decisions are short. For this reason, acting at the moment and in a planned way continues to be of critical importance.
Attention to the police-custody minutes: the importance of following the documents
The minutes formed in the police-custody process become critical reference points at the later stages of the trial. Documents such as the statement minutes, the medical-check record, the minutes of the meeting with the lawyer, and the notice to relatives both prove the procedural safeguard and provide a concrete basis in possible claims of a rights violation.
What should be paid attention to in following the minutes:
- Whether the statement given was reflected correctly on the minutes should be checked
- If there is a matter that is wanted to be added, this request should be passed onto the minutes
- The whole text should be read before a signature is put
- If there is any pressure or procedural problem, this should also be recorded
Although the minutes can be objected to later, the success of this objection depends on documentation at the moment and on the inconsistencies being made concrete. For this reason, the minutes should be assessed as a safeguard of rights, and not only as a formality.
Developing an attitude based on rights in the police-custody process
The experience of police custody is only one part of the legal process. How this part is conducted shapes the later stages directly. Developing an attitude based on rights means this:
- Being fully aware of the rights that are held
- Asking for these rights openly when it is needed
- Following that the requests pass onto the minutes
- Not signing before having matters that were not understood explained
This attitude is neither an aggressive resistance nor an indifferent surrender. A calm, conscious, and document-focused approach is in most cases the most effective way.
Safeguards particular to children and young persons in police custody
When children and young persons are in question, the police-custody process contains additional procedural safeguards. These safeguards generally cover the informing of the legal representative, treatment fitting the age, and special procedural adaptations. Separate standards apply in the process of taking the child's statement. For this reason, in processes started for children or young persons, an assessment should be made in a frame different from adult files. Support from specialist defence counsel becomes still more critical at this stage.
This text is for general information. The features of the concrete event may give rise to different results. For the continuation of the subject, the contents criminal law, judicial control, and when a detention decision is given can be examined together.
In order to reduce the risk of a violation of rights, all the procedural steps should be passed onto a written record from the moment of police custody, the minutes should be checked carefully, and the defence should be updated at every stage. The disciplined following of the process affects not only the acts of that moment, but also the decisions in the continuation of the investigation, directly.
Where the rights are read from
The right to defence counsel, to silence, and to notice to relatives is read from the minutes. A police-custody day that is not in the file is not carried into this text. A summons from the prosecution office is not treated as the same as police custody. The office in Çankaya does not change the competent authority.
Conclusion
The police-custody process is a period in which the feeling of uncertainty and of pressure is high. It is also the stage at which the legal rights are needed most. When access to a lawyer, the right to silence, medical checks, and the safety of the statement are thought of together, it is possible to conduct the process consciously. The correct use of the rights affects not only that moment, but also the stages of judicial control, detention, and trial of the file.
An Ankara lawyer reads the rights in police custody from the minutes and does not add a day that is not in the file.