You may have received an unexpected call or letter from a Thames Valley Police officer asking you to attend a voluntary interview in Reading, Newbury or the surrounding area. Interviews are commonly arranged at Reading, Loddon Valley, Newbury or Pangbourne Police Station, depending on which police team is investigating the allegation.
Being invited rather than arrested can make the process appear less serious. It is still a formal interview under caution in which you will be questioned as a suspect. Your answers, and sometimes what you fail to mention, may influence whether the allegation is dropped, dealt with outside court or results in criminal charges.
Our Reading criminal defence solicitors regularly represent clients at voluntary interviews in Reading, Newbury and across Berkshire. We can contact the officer before you attend, establish the allegation and evidence being relied upon, meet with you to prepare your account and advise whether you should answer questions, provide a prepared statement or exercise your right to silence.
Preparing You for a Voluntary Police Interview
Before you attend the police station, we will speak to the investigating officer and ask for information about the allegation. This may include the circumstances of the complaint, what the complainant or other witnesses have said and whether the police hold supporting evidence such as messages, CCTV, phone data or forensic material.
The police are not required to reveal their entire case before the interview, but the information provided can still be important. We will consider it with you during a confidential consultation, take your account and identify any evidence or background information which may support your position.
We will then advise you how to approach the interview. The correct strategy depends on the allegation, the quality of the disclosure, the evidence available to the police and the account you wish to give.
There are three main interview strategies:
1. Answering questions in a voluntary police interview
A full-comment interview allows you to answer the officer’s questions and explain your account in detail. This may be the best approach where there is a clear denial, an innocent explanation or important context which the police need to investigate.
Answering questions also carries risks. A suspect who is nervous, upset or unprepared may give unclear answers, overlook important details or agree with an inaccurate suggestion. We will help you understand the issues beforehand and intervene during the interview if a question is unfair, misleading or outside the proper scope of the investigation.
2. Exercising your right to silence
You are entitled to answer “no comment” to some or all of the questions asked. This may be advisable where the police have provided limited disclosure, the questions appear speculative or answering them could expose you to unnecessary risk.
Silence is not an admission of guilt. However, if the case reaches trial, the court may in certain circumstances draw an adverse inference if you later rely on a fact which you could reasonably have been expected to mention during the interview. A no-comment interview should therefore be a considered decision made after receiving legal advice.
3. Providing a prepared statement
A prepared statement allows you to place your account on record in clear and carefully considered terms. The statement may set out a denial, provide an explanation or identify relevant evidence and lines of enquiry for the police to pursue.
After the statement has been provided, we may advise you to answer questions or to make no further comment. This approach can be particularly useful where it is important to put forward your position while avoiding the risks of answering detailed or repetitive questions under pressure.
Representation Across Reading and Berkshire
With our office in Reading, Reeds Solicitors regularly represents clients attending voluntary interviews at police stations throughout Berkshire.
Loddon Valley Police Station
Rushey Way, Lower Earley, Reading RG6 4PS
Many voluntary interviews in Berkshire are conducted at Loddon Valley Police Station. It has a custody area, rooms for voluntary attendances and parking at the station. Free parking may also be available on the surrounding residential roads.
Reading Police Station
Castle Street, Reading RG1 7TH
Reading Police Station has rooms for voluntary interviews. There are a limited number of parking spaces outside the station, although these are often occupied. Paid parking is available on Castle Street and at Broad Street Mall.
Newbury Police Station
12 Mill Lane, Newbury RG14 5QU
Although the custody suite at Newbury Police Station has closed, voluntary interviews are still conducted there. Parking is available outside the station and on Mill Lane.
Pangbourne Police Station
9 Reading Road, Pangbourne, Reading RG8 7JA
Parking is available in the police station car park.
Case Studies in Reading
Here are some examples of our work representing clients during voluntary police interviews at police stations across Berkshire.
Sexual Assault Allegation at Reading Police Station
We represented a client accused of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. The interview was arranged to take place at Reading Police Station.
Our solicitor contacted the officer a week before the interview and obtained disclosure about the allegation. The client was extremely nervous and benefited from meeting our solicitor beforehand, when the interview process and the available options were explained.
After taking detailed instructions, our solicitor advised the client to give a full-comment interview clearly denying the allegation. Our solicitor remained present throughout the interview to support the client and ensure that the police complied with their obligations under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Following the interview, the police took no further action.
Assault Allegation at Newbury Police Station
We represented a young person who had been accused of assault and invited to attend an interview at Newbury Police Station. Given his age, his parents felt it was important for him to meet our solicitor before the interview.
During that consultation, the client provided detailed instructions which amounted to a defence to the allegation. He was extremely anxious about speaking to the investigating officer, so our solicitor advised him to provide his account through a prepared statement.
Our solicitor drafted the statement and read it at the beginning of the recorded interview. The client then exercised his right to silence. Following further contact with the police, the investigation was closed with no further action.
Attempted Rape Allegation at Reading Police Station
We represented a young adult accused of attempted rape who had been asked to attend a voluntary interview at Reading Police Station. He had never previously been arrested or interviewed and was understandably worried about the process and its possible consequences.
Our solicitor contacted Reading CID and obtained disclosure the day before the interview. We arranged a private consultation at our Reading office, during which the solicitor reviewed the disclosure with the client, took detailed instructions and explained the available interview strategies.
The client then attended Reading Police Station with our solicitor and gave a full-comment interview denying the allegation and explaining his account of what had happened. After the police investigated the lines of enquiry raised during the interview, the case concluded with no further action.
Frequently Asked Questions
In order for an arrest to be lawful it must be necessary. This will often be the case where evidence needs to be obtained from within a suspect’s property or where evidence needs to be seized from a suspect. If the alleged offence took place some time ago or there is no longer the need to seize evidence, a voluntary interview will likely be offered. If you refuse to attend the voluntary interview, the officer will likely then have the power to arrest you in order to carry out the interview.
In short, no. The police conduct voluntary interviews for a wide variety of offences, including assaults, controlling & coercive behaviour and sexual offences. Any police station interview involves an alleged criminal offence, which could result in a criminal record.
After the interview, the police officer will decide whether any further investigation is needed or whether a charging decision can be sought from the Evidential Review Officer or the Crown Prosecution Service.
Following the interview, we can review whether there are any proactive steps that we can take on your behalf to undermine the case against you. For example, we can explore what defence evidence can be obtained to support your account. In some cases, we can make persuasive written representations to the officer, requesting that all charges are dropped.
A proactive approach can sometimes play a crucial role in averting a prosecution.
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