Spectacles must be provided at all police stations or detention centres to help detainees read vital documents when arrested, according to campaigners.
Around 1.3 million people arrested every year are unable to read the documents they are asked to sign, leading to possible miscarriages of justice, according to civil liberties group Justice-and-Sight, which is spearheading the campaign.
The group said the problem was becoming increasingly widespread because of the ageing population.
Commenting on the campaign, founder Simon Collyer said: 'Because many of the people who need glasses to read do not carry them all the time, they could be unable to read the "Code of Practice" manual that they are automatically given and other legal documents if they end up in custody. But refusing to sign documents that they cannot read can make a detainee appear uncooperative.
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