Police Station Adviser's Index, Brian Spiro and Steven Bird, FT Law & Tax £33

If you need help with Pace at the police station in the wee small hours of the morning (or any other time) then make sure you have this volume handy.

This first edition Index is obviously written by solicitors who know their job well and I am sure this volume will become as well-thumbed as the other Index books.

It cannot, given its size, be as comprehensive as Ed Capes' Defending Suspects at Police Stations, but Police Station Adviser's Index scores highly in other ways. For example, there is a sensible three-way division of each area in to law, procedure, and "professional tips" - which are very helpful.

The book is easy to read from start to finish, the most valuable part being the "index" itself. Finding the answer to a problem in Capes' work can be a bit of a trawl, but in the Index the topic can be found quickly and it is also covered succinctly.

The main body of the book amounts to some 234 pages, with the relevant sections of the Police & Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Codes of Practice helpfully included from page 235 onwards. This makes it the book to have in your briefcase along with your notebook and DSPS1s.

The Index is reasonably up to date - June 1995 - and I am sure it will prove popular enough to become an annual issue.

I recommend this excellent publication to any practitioner: police station work is some of the most demanding solicitors do and you will be better equipped for the task by making use of the Police Station Adviser's Index.