How To Get The Police To Drop My Case

How Do The Police Charge People With A Criminal Offence?

The police can arrest anyone where they have a reasonable suspicion that they have committed, are about to commit, or are committing a criminal offence. When a person is arrested they will be taken into custody and booked in at the custody desk. They will have their fingerprints and DNA taken and held in a cell until officers are ready to interview the suspect. All suspects have the right to a solicitor when they are interviewed by the police, and we urge everyone regardless of their innocence or guilt to seek legal advice when in this very vulnerable position. 

The police can hold a person under arrest for 24 hours without charging them, and up to 96 hours where an application to the Magistrates for an extension of time is successful. 

In some instances a suspect may not be arrested at all, and instead interviewed as a volunteer. This does not mean the police are treating the suspected offence any less seriously and again, obtaining legal advice for a voluntary interview under caution is strongly advised. 

Where a suspect is not charged at the police station they will be released on bail pending investigation. This is often the case in most sexual offence cases due to the requirement for the police to further investigate the alleged offence, further enquiries the police may wish to make can include forensic examination of electronic equipment, forensic examination of swabs, speak with witnesses, obtain third party material and/or make CCTV enquiries.  The list of what the police do during an investigation of a sexual offence is endless and dependent on the particular circumstances of each individual case. This is where pre-charge engagement can be crucial as it is important as defence solicitors that we make sure an impartial investigation is being carried out and that lines of enquiry are also being made on behalf of the suspect. 

Pre- Charge Engagement and How This Can Lead To The Police Dropping Your Case

Pre-Charge Engagement with the police is crucial, particularly in sexual offence cases where the evidence ultimately comes down to one persons word against another. We find in many cases that there is a background to the circumstances which the suspect hasn’t explained during their interview, or has explained but come away thinking they could have said more to help prove their innocence. 

Pre charge engagement allows defence lawyers to liaise with the investigating officer and suggest lines of enquiry to assist out clients. We have seen many cases where clients have come to us having been charged who unfortunately made the decision to sit and wait during the investigation and not take the pro-active approach available to them, when we look at the case there could have been much more done at the initial stages which potentially would have led to a different outcome for our client, and the case being dropped. 

Working to get a case dropped before charge is priority when we are instructed early in a case. Our team take over the management of the case and in some respects guide the police into looking down avenues which ultimately benefit our client. The police are suppose to be impartial investigators, but changes to the way in which they are trained, particularly when investigating sexual offences, unfortunately leads them to being much more supportive of the complainants case and a prosecution. 

Throughout the months you are investigated we remain heavily involved with the police and take an extremely pro-active approach. When the police have concluded their investigation, and if the case is being passed to the CPS for advice or for a charging decision our lawyers are ready and with full knowledge of the case will submit pre-charge representations where it is in our clients interests to do so. At Eventum Legal our pre-charge representations can take the form of a mini defence bundle which can include various documents which support our clients case, this is a carefully drafted document and cleverly done over many months having observed the police enquiries and worked closely with our client to challenge each piece of the case against them.