If you're arrested or asked to attend a police station for an interview, it is important that you have a legal representative with you. Most criminal cases start with the Police investigation and therefore, it is important that you are properly advised to ensure that your defence is set out from the beginning. We will able to advise on the evidence the police have against you and advise you on your defence.
Arrested:
If you are arrested, one of your rights is to speak and consult with a solicitor. You should ask the police that you wish to speak to solicitor and to inform them that you are arrested. The police will get in touch with your solicitor via Defence Solicitors Call Centre and contact your solicitor. Garratts Solicitors offer free and independent advice to all our clients. Once we have been notified of your arrest, we will speak to you over the phone to ensure that you are looked after. We will make a note of the time of your arrest and make sure that the police are conducting their investigation quickly and expeditiously. We will then attend police when the police are ready for an interview and advice you on the evidence against you. We will also sit in the police interview and ensure the interview is conducted under PACE.
Voluntary Interview
The police may ask you to attend a police station for a voluntary interview. This means that the Police will not arrest you; however, they would want to interview you under Caution. If you do not attend, the police may later decide to arrest you. It is, therefore, important to attend a police station to avoid being arrested. You are also free to leave the interview at any time, however, if the police feel you are not cooperating, they may need to arrest you.
You are entitled to have free independent legal advice for the interview. Please make sure you ask for Garratts Solicitors to attend with you.
If the police have contacted you for an interview, please contact us immediately and inform us of the date, time and the police station so that we can attend with you.
We will contact the police officer in the case and inform them that we represent you. We will request a copy of the disclosure from the officer and advice you accordingly. If the officer does not give us a disclosure beforehand, we will obtain the disclosure before the interview and discuss the case with you before we go for an interview.
We will then advise you on how to deal with the interview. We will sit in the interview and ensure it is being conducted under PACE and advice you on the outcome of the investigation.
If you've been arrested or asked to attend a police station for an interview, please contact us at 0161 344 2244. Our team of criminal defence solicitors are here to help you through this difficult time.