What to Expect When You’re Asked to Attend a Voluntary Police Interview
Receiving a phone call or letter about a voluntary police interview is an uncomfortable experience, with many people’s first thoughts being that it can’t be that serious if they aren’t getting formally arrested.
The problem is that the "voluntary" part can be a little bit misleading. There are legal ramifications and your actions either way during and after the meeting can make all the difference in the world.
What’s So Voluntary About It?
Voluntary attendance means that the police are not arresting you and taking you to the station to ask questions. You’re not detained; you technically can leave if you want to, but that’s not how the situation comes across. Furthermore, everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, there’s caution, meaning that it’s the same kind of legal setting as if they’d come and arrested you first and then took you in for questioning.
Often at this stage, people want to know if they can get charged for coming in. This is something you should check before stepping into the doors, this article, for example, on Can you be Charged at a Voluntary Police Interview outlines exactly how that process goes.
What Happens?
Typically, you’ll enter through a side door and go into an interview room where an officer or two will ask you questions about whatever they want. Before anything begins, however, the officer must read you the caution, the classic "you do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you rely on in court" statement, which should tell you how serious of a situation this is.
The interview is recorded. That should be standard for all interviews whether you’re arrested or walk in under your own volition. There is no difference in how these things will be noted, audio recording, notes, etc., and whatever you say under caution is subject to being referenced later on if the appropriate parties deem fit.
What’s important to note is that the police have a reason to invite you in. They don’t do voluntary interviews without cause. Therefore, by the time you’ve been asked to attend, they’ve likely amassed some level of evidence or information already from elsewhere and want to see what you’re willing to say, or how it differs from what they’ve already got.
What You’re Allowed During This Process
Whatever brought you in wasn’t spontaneous, however you received the invitation. Legal representation can accompany you into the interview and help clarify certain questions if you’re told not to answer something relative. For example, having a solicitor present can help turn this into more of a discussion about what not to say rather than a strict requirement to answer every question thrown your way.
You’re under no obligation to answer everything. Not speaking up is not an admission of guilt. In fact, many solicitors like to work with clients who’ve prepared a statement, a means by which they can put forth their position clearly and concisely without opening up a back-and-forth type of dialogue that could muddy the waters.
This includes any caution read before commencement; basically, the police need to inform you what you’re there for so that your solicitor can adequately advise you whether that’s proper before the interview starts; if caution isn’t upheld, that’s something for a solicitor to take back for you.
Why You Should Prepare Ahead of Time
There’s no clear benefit to going in there without prior preparation, or without legal support. Even if someone is fully ready with their story, it’s one thing to share their account of events under duress it’s another thing to have someone else facilitating it, or stepping in to help when needed.
Preparation doesn’t mean scripting what you’re going to say, it means understanding what you’re walking into, knowing what the interview is about and having adequate support as to what you do and don’t need to say ahead of time. A solicitor can help with all of that before anyone steps foot through the doors on arrival.
Then there’s the next step after these interviews take place. The police have options, they can decide not to proceed no further action; they can let you go pending investigation; they can decide it’s worthy for CPS referral or, in some cases, charge you at that very moment they’re in possession of your information without even more complicating factors.
The more clear-cut you’ve presented yourself during this interview process is part of that decision-making process and it only helps to have a solicitor as your support staff to help facilitate any potential needs.
Voluntary Police Interviews Are Serious, But They’re Not Criminal Charges (Yet)
Being asked to attend a voluntary police interview does not mean you’re presumed guilty and it does not mean they’re necessarily going to arrest you down the line or charge you at this stage; however, they’re serious and require such stringent attention that things have the potential to go awry when people walk in without acting like it matters just because they have some informal sounding invitation instead of something more official.
The good news is that this situation can be handled safely and effectively when one has the right support at each stage along the way, the right criminal law solicitors see voluntary interviews like this all the time and know how best to support someone from when they receive their request until after they’ve been completed successfully. Always better to get advice beforehand than waiting until afterwards.
The sooner someone gets legal support (before an interview) the better because there are better options available then if someone waits until it’s too late, they’re all viable options regardless of someone’s status as a witness or person of interest or any other relationship in between.