Background The lack of transparency and accountability in the treatment of suspects and certain victims in police stations has affected public confidence in the police. The situation is worsened by reports of violations of the legal entitlements and rights of detainees/suspects which are contrary to international human rights standards. The widespread poor public perception of the police has a damaging effect on police and community relations and can undermine the development of a constructive partnership in communities. Legal Advice Scheme: Steps for implementation 1. Identify possible implementing partners and groups interested in the initiative. See next page for examples of implementing partners in Lagos State. 2. Form a steering group with the identified partners. Develop a ToR that clearly defines and guides the implementation of the scheme. An example ToR used in the Lagos pilot is available for reference. 3. Get police authorities’ buy-in by providing de-tails of the possible benefits of the scheme, and consider citing evidence from the Lagos scheme as a real-life example. Get them to identify one or two police stations in which to pilot the scheme initially. 4. Using the networks of your partners, identify the law firms and individual lawyers who would be interested in participating and brief them on the scheme and the roles/responsibilities of lawyers. Example ToR for Law Firms and Lawyers are available for reference. 5. Nominate a coordinator (preferably a registered CSO/NGO) for each police station. The Coordinator’s role is to create and manage the duty rota for lawyers, report to the Steering Committee, and schedule regular debrief meetings for lawyers – as described in the following steps. The coordinator also liaises with the station DPO on the scheme and arranges for lawyers to have ID cards to allow them to gain access to stations. 6. Draw up a duty rota/schedule for each law firm/lawyer involved in the scheme so they know the dates of their visits. At the onset of the project, it is suggested that lawyers visit the stations daily and as the scheme matures, reduce visits two to three times a week. The duty rota should also include the contact details of the firm so that ‘on call’ services can be provided if the need arises. A duty rota template is available for reference. 7. The lawyer who visits the police station should complete a ‘Monitoring Form’. The forms should be collated on a weekly basis and forwarded to the scheme coordinator. The coordinator completes a ‘Monitoring Analysis Form’ to track progress in the station over a period of time. Templates of forms are available for reference. 8. Schedule monthly/bi-monthly meetings for lawyers to debrief on their experiences, developments and challenges. The meetings should be hosted by the coordinator and provide additional information that may not be captured in the daily reports. The Steering Group should also meet once a month to discuss feedback and developments of the scheme. 36