Police Station Representation
Interviews under caution
Suspects are usually questioned or 'interviewed' at a police station after being arrested or voluntarily by arrangement. Certain interviews are held at places other than at police stations.
Investigators use interviews to try and obtain evidence from questioning, which can be quite daunting and distressing. Interviewers often employ certain psychological ploys aimed at obtaining confession evidence from suspects.
Being competently represented during an interview is an extremely important aspect of properly representing a client and can often make or break a case. You can be rest assured that our lawyers will advise and assist you competently at this crucial stage.
Our criminal lawyers are available to advise and assistance our clients anywhere in England and Wales at any time of the day or night. We can also arrange representation outside of England and Wales should the need arise.
Pre-charge engagement
In certain cases, before a formal decision on charge (i.e. the commencement of court proceedings) is made, it might be advisable to enter into pre-charge discussions with the Prosecution for various reasons.
The primary aim of entering into pre-charge discussions is to persuade the Prosecution not to bring any charges at all thereby bringing any potential criminal case to a conclusive end.
Aside from the obvious relief from the termination of a criminal case at the earliest possible stage, there could be other benefits such as, for example, the lifting of asset restraint orders or account freezing orders, and the complete avoidance of any confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
We can assist you in identifying issues showing that it would not be in the interests of justice to prosecute you and/or assist in the securing of evidence capable of demonstrating that there would be no reasonable prospect of conviction if you were charged, which might in turn involve the obtaining of witness statements or reports etc from appropriate expert witnesses.
Since every case is different and revolves on its own facts and circumstances, it is vitally important to properly explore and consider the option of entering into pre-charge discussions with the Prosecution at the earliest possible opportunity.
Pre-charge bail conditions
During the investigative stage of a case, it is not unusual for suspects to be made subject to extremely stringent bail conditions resulting in serious knock-on effects to that person's day-to-day personal life and/or professional life.
Being made subject to onerous bail conditions is made even worse by the fact that investigations usually drag on for months or even years.
We can assist in challenging the necessity and proportionality of bail conditions.