What actually happens when you are arrested?
A defined custody procedure with specific rights attached at each stage — and knowing the sequence matters, because the most consequential decisions are made in the first hour when people are least equipped to make them.
At the point of arrest. The officer must tell you that you are under arrest, the offence, why the arrest is necessary, and give the caution. Reasonable force may be used; searching for items relevant to the offence or to safety is permitted.
At the police station. A custody officer, independent of the investigation, authorises detention and opens a custody record. Your property is recorded, and personal details taken.
The rights you must be told about, which apply from arrival:
Free independent legal advice. This is the important one. It is free regardless of means, available by phone or in person, and there is no advantage in declining it. People routinely refuse to avoid delay — that is the single most consequential mistake made in custody.
To have someone informed of your detention.
To consult the codes of practice.
Medical attention if needed, and an appropriate adult for under-18s and vulnerable adults, who must be present for interview.
An interpreter where required.
Time limits. Detention without charge is limited — commonly 24 hours, extendable by senior officers and then only by a court, with longer limits for the most serious offences. Reviews occur at set intervals.
The interview. Recorded, conducted under caution, with a solicitor present if requested. You may answer questions, decline to answer, or provide a prepared statement — and in some jurisdictions adverse inferences can be drawn at trial from failing to mention something later relied on, which is precisely why legal advice before interview matters.
The outcomes: release with no further action; release under investigation or on bail; an out-of-court disposal such as a caution or penalty notice, which still carries consequences and may appear on enhanced checks; or charge, followed by bail or a court appearance.
England and Wales focused; rights and procedures differ substantially by country. General information, not legal advice.