CustodyNote for Duty Solicitors

Duty solicitors on the rota need a fast, reliable way to create structured attendance notes during police station attendances. CustodyNote provides pre-built templates for custody attendances, voluntary interviews, and telephone advice — with every section guided so nothing is missed, even at 3am.

The duty solicitor rota is demanding. Calls come at unpredictable hours, stations vary in layout and connectivity, and the need for a complete, defensible record does not diminish because the attendance happened overnight. CustodyNote is built for exactly this environment: offline-capable, structured, and fast enough that you can work through sections between interviews rather than facing a reconstruction exercise the next morning.

Independence from the police. Duty solicitors are not employed by the police. Legal Aid funds the attendance and advice — not the police or CPS — and your duty is to the suspect as your client. CustodyNote is software for your professional record; it does not change who you represent.

Why duty work needs dedicated software

Generic note-taking tools and practice management systems were not designed for a solicitor sitting in a custody suite at midnight with unreliable Wi-Fi and three matters to cover before dawn. The problems are specific:

Connectivity — most custody areas have poor or no mobile signal. Browser-based tools fail when you need them most. CustodyNote works entirely offline.
Structure — a blank document does not remind you to record PACE review times, appropriate adult details, or what disclosure was provided. CustodyNote's templates prompt for every section a duty attendance should cover.
Speed — between booking in, consultation, and interview, you may have minutes rather than hours. Structured fields are faster to complete than writing prose from scratch.
Consistency — your firm or supervising partner expects the same standard from every attendance, regardless of the hour. Templates enforce that standard without relying on memory.

Structured templates for every attendance type

CustodyNote includes templates for the three main types of police station work duty solicitors encounter:

PACE custody attendances — from initial instruction and arrival through disclosure, consultation, interview, and outcome. Every section is guided with fields for custody reference, arresting officer, offences, PACE reviews, and detention conditions.
Voluntary interviews — adapted for non-custody attendances under section 29 of PACE. The template reflects the differences: no custody record, no detention clock, but the same need for thorough documentation of advice, disclosure, and interview content.
Telephone advice — brief, focused records for remote instructions where you advise by phone without attending the station. Time, advice given, and outcome captured in a streamlined format.

Offline-first design

CustodyNote saves all data to an encrypted local database on your Windows laptop. There is no dependency on internet access at any point during the attendance. You can create records, complete sections, and export PDFs without ever connecting to the network. If you choose to enable cloud backup for resilience, it syncs when connectivity is available — but it is never required.

This matters for duty work because the moments when you most need the tool — sitting in a consultation room, waiting for disclosure, recording the interview outcome — are exactly the moments when Wi-Fi is least reliable. For more on why offline matters at the station, see police station Wi-Fi and offline working.

LAA billing support

Duty work under the Legal Aid Agency requires accurate time recording and claim categorisation. CustodyNote includes billing fields as part of each attendance record: arrival time, waiting time, consultation time, interview duration, travel, and claim type. These fields are completed during the attendance rather than reconstructed afterwards, which reduces billing queries and strengthens claim support.

CustodyNote does not submit LAA claims directly — that remains with your firm's billing process or CCMS. But the structured data in each note gives your billing team (or you, if you manage your own claims) the detail they need without chasing you for missing times.

PDF export for firm files

Every attendance note can be exported as a professional PDF. The output follows a consistent format: client details, attendance summary, disclosure, consultation, interview record, outcome, and billing information. Whether you email it to your firm, upload it to a case management system, or print it for the physical file, the PDF is the finished artefact.

For duty solicitors who report to a supervising partner or compliance team, consistent PDF output demonstrates that every attendance was documented to the same standard — regardless of whether it happened at 10am or 3am.

How it fits your duty workflow

When the DSCC or your firm calls with an instruction, open a new record in CustodyNote. Enter the client name, station, and allegation on the way. At the station, work through each section as the attendance progresses. Export the PDF before you leave or on the way to the next job. The note is done — not a draft to be tidied up later, but a complete record created in real time.

Pricing and trial

CustodyNote offers a free 30-day trial with all features — no credit card required. After the trial, it is £9.99/month (early access pricing). For a broader look at how CustodyNote supports duty work, see duty solicitor software or criminal defence solicitor software.

Frequently asked questions

Does CustodyNote work without internet?

Yes. CustodyNote is offline-first. All data is stored in an encrypted local database on your device. You do not need Wi-Fi, mobile data, or any network connection to create, edit, or export attendance notes.

Can I use CustodyNote on the duty rota if my firm uses a different case management system?

Yes. CustodyNote is a standalone attendance note tool. It does not replace your firm's CMS — it produces PDF attendance notes that you upload or email into whatever system the firm uses.

How does CustodyNote handle LAA billing?

Billing fields are built into each attendance record: claim type, time recording (arrival, waiting, consultation, interview), travel, and disbursements. The data supports your LAA claim but CustodyNote does not submit claims to CCMS directly.

Is my data encrypted?

Yes. All data is encrypted with AES-256 on your device. If you enable optional cloud backup, data is encrypted before leaving your machine and stored in AWS London (eu-west-2). See our security page for full details.

What if I attend multiple stations in one shift?

Create a separate record for each attendance. Each has its own template, billing fields, and PDF export. You can work through them sequentially as your shift progresses. Download CustodyNote and try it on your next rota slot.