About

The Know My Rights website arose out of research undertaken by Dr Vicky Kemp University of Nottingham, when examining people’s understanding of their legal rights as suspects. Instead of arresting and detaining suspects, the police now often use voluntary interviews. This means that the police will ask you to attend at a police station, or another venue, at a pre-arranged time so that they can ask you questions about a suspected offence. There is very little information over the internet to tell people about their legal rights as suspects in voluntary interviews. This website, funded by the University of Nottingham, will help to fill this gap. You can tell the police that you want a solicitor and they will arrange for one to be with you in the voluntary interview. Otherwise, you can contact your own solicitor. To find a free defence solicitor in your area, paid for by the government, use the search button on this website. You can contact a solicitor before the interview to get legal advice, and to ask them to be in the interview with you. There will shortly be available an App available to download to your mobile phone which will set out your legal rights in a voluntary interview. It would be helpful to get your feedback on what you think of this website. It would be helpful to know what you found to be useful, and what you think could be changed to help improve it. Please let us know your views by Contacting Us.

We are also interested to know what experiences you might have had when attending a voluntary interview. Did you realise that the police were asking you questions about an offence that they suspected you had committed? Did you have a solicitor? If not, it would be helpful to know why not. Again, please let us know your experiences in voluntary interviews by Contacting Us.

Vicky has undertaken research into police station legal advice over many years. She has worked with the police and defence solicitors in creating this website to help people understand what is happening, and what their legal rights are, when asked by the police to attend a voluntary interview.