Does the police have an obligation to ensure that the arrested youth has access to counsel prior to giving a statement?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from R. v. K. et al, 2004 BCPC 210 (CanLII):
In R v. D.R.B. [2004] B.C.P.C. 0144, an arrested youth attempted to contact counsel of choice but was unable to do so. The police knew this, but proceeded to take a statement. The court found that this did not give the youth a reasonable opportunity to contact other counsel and breached his Section 10(b) rights under the Charter. The continuing ambivalence of the youth as to whether or not he wished to give a statement or whether he wished to consult counsel prior to doing so, or have counsel present during the course of giving a statement, was found not to be sufficient to relieve the police of their obligation to ensure he had a reasonable opportunity to consult counsel.
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