Lawyers are deliberately not showing up at police stations when their clients are arrested to avoid controversial law changes regarding the right to silence.

Frustrated police say this has led to a blow-out of investigation times and they are calling for a review of the laws, which were introduced following a spate of drive-by shootings three years ago.

"Police officers are extremely frustrated": The Police Association's Scott Weber says the current legislation needs to be reviewed. Credit:Domino Postiglione

Under the new laws, when someone is arrested, it may harm their defence if they fail to speak or to mention something they try to rely on later at trial.

But the NSW government included a condition where the law cannot be applied unless the accused person has a legal representative present.