Adolescence show- is this what it’s actually like?

[FcukedUpFeet]

So I’ve just started the Adolescence series on Netflix (no spoilers please!)and I’m really shocked by how little the family are told about what’s happening to their son. When they arrest him, they say what he’s under arrest for, but that’s the only information they get. They don’t tell them who he’s been arrested for murdering, or any details on what’s happening. The lawyer doesn’t even speak to him before the police interview except to tell him to say no comment. The lawyer doesn’t seem to have any details before the interview and just here given a file as they go in? He doesn’t ask the kid for any information and says not to tell him if he’s guilty?

luckily for me, I’ve never been in this situation. But is this what it’s actually like? No information for the parents, no information to the lawyer?

I should imagine it is.

Probably, to reduce the risk of interference with evidence or statements etc.

I posted this on another thread - it wasn't so much completely unrealistic but both exaggerated and condensed for drama and timeliness, because of the 'one take' format. In reality you'd be talking hours between arrest and interview, not 5-10 minutes.

It wouldn't have been so 'rushed' with the solicitor essentially having to beg for attention and the officers absolutely would NEVER call a solicitor a prick (at least to their face!) and act like they were doing him a favour by letting him speak to his client beforehand! That bit was really weird.

It is deliberate to hold back as much info as possible to get the most honest account. They should have taken statements from the whole family (separately) before they came to the station and definitely before the dad was allowed to see Jamie and act as the AA - to rule out whether they might be witnesses or even accomplices.

In reality they would probably give the solicitor slightly more disclosure up front than they did, but it's realistic that they would hold back the key evidence (in this case the CCTV) until the suspect has had a chance to provide an initial account. They would usually have asked a lot more questions before coming to that point, even if a detainee is going no-comment - you'll notice that part of the caution involves adverse inference i.e. "you do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court." So they ask as many questions as possible so the suspect can't say "Oh well I WOULD have told you about that but you didn't ask me about it/didn't give me the chance."

The solicitor did try to request they take a break before showing the CCTV but the dad says to carry on - in real interviews there are often several breaks so the solicitor and client can discuss what to say whenever the police provide them with additional evidence.

The solicitor wouldn't want Jamie to tell him he did it because it puts them in a very precarious position - they can't then support their client in entering a not guilty defence in court because they will be committing perjury.

The most inaccurate part was how quickly they had gathered so much evidence (including multiple different lots of CCTV and school reports!), between the murder taking place at about 10.30pm and the arrest at 6am!

No, in real life they give suspects all
the info and evidence ahead of time so they can work out a good defence 😂 or not