Being under investigation for a criminal offence can be an overwhelming and exhausting experience, especially if you are being represented by a solicitor who does not keep in touch regularly or is not giving your case the attention it deserves.
Our Pre-Charge Representation service’s primary goal is to work with you to maximise the chance of your case being closed at the investigation stage. This way, it won’t go to court. We’re also here to provide support for you at every step of the process. We are accessible, considerate and understanding whilst also offering expert legal advice regarding your particular situation.
Reeds Solicitors has a specialist team dedicated to Pre-Charge Representation. We regularly assist clients accused of the following (non-exhaustive) offences:
- Rape and other serious sexual offences
- Possession of indecent images and sexual communication with a child
- Violent offences, including assault, ABH, GBH and affray
- Domestic offences, including allegations of coercive or controlling behaviour
- Harassment, stalking, and malicious communication
- Drug offences, including possession, supply, and conspiracy
- Fraud and financial crime, including money laundering and false accounting
- Terrorism and national security investigations
Our expert Solicitors have the expertise and experience required to advise and represent you. Contact us through our contact page here. Alternatively, you can phone 0333 240 7373, or email us at [email protected]
I Am Under Investigation – What Should I Do?
It is natural to think that when you are innocent, justice will prevail. This belief often leads those who have been arrested for the first time in their life to sit back and wait for the police to decide their future. Unfortunately, often this is the best possible point to positively affect the outcome of a case as early proactive engagement can make a real difference.
While preventing prosecution altogether is the primary goal, sometimes the best available option is persuading the Police to consider an alternative out of court disposal such as a Caution or Community Resolution where the long-term effects on your life are minimised.
Did You Use The Duty Solicitor?
The duty solicitor scheme is an essential service that provides free and independent legal representation to people in the Police Station. It ensures that individuals, regardless of means, have access to legal advice in their hour of need. The duty solicitor can protect you and prevent the Police from acting outside of practice guidelines (PACE) or unfairly.
However, the duty solicitor scheme is not without its limitations. Funding is extremely restricted and only covers attendance at the police station for the interview – nothing more. In many cases, the duty solicitor may not be a qualified solicitor but a trainee or a police station representative.
Many clients tell us that having used the duty solicitor, they cannot get hold of them or find that, when they do, the solicitor appears disinterested. Unfortunately, many duty solicitors are overworked and do not have the capacity to offer follow-up representation to their clients.
Clients who wish to proactively defend themselves or seek further legal advice on their position will need to contact Private Criminal Solicitors with the expertise and capacity to assist their case.
Reeds LLP - Private Client Pre Charge Representation Service
Reeds Solicitors is a Tier 1 firm in the Legal 500 and has also been recognised in The Times Best Law Firms awards in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Our team includes several Legal 500 Leading Individuals, Next Generation Partners and Leading Associates as well as Senior Partners, Partners, and Senior Solicitors who have extensive experience representing individuals under criminal investigation. Our team has over 100 years of combined legal experience.
When instructed, we assess and advise on every potential avenue available in your defence. You will have a direct line to your lawyer and can expect regular communication throughout, without needing to chase for updates.
At Reeds, we work with you from the outset to develop a clear, strategic plan aimed at achieving the best possible outcome. Every case is different, and an effective defence must be tailored to its specific circumstances. A successful strategy is never a “copy and paste” exercise but one that targets the individual strengths and weaknesses of your case.
How We Can Help
Once a police investigation concludes, the case file is prepared by the officer in charge and submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for review. It is important to understand that the police do not decide whether you are charged with an offence - the CPS makes that decision.
Our experience suggests that many case files are naturally presented in a prosecution-minded way by the police. Under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 and the Criminal Procedure Rules, you are entitled to take an active role in the pre-charge process. One effective way of doing this is by submitting written representations for the prosecutor to consider alongside the police file. These representations can highlight key defence points and correct any imbalance in the investigation.
The types of representations we prepare on behalf of suspects can include:
- Comments on the police evidence, including issues of credibility or evidential weaknesses
- Highlighting and explaining the defence evidence provided
- Referring to your interview account where it supports your case
- Presenting character evidence
- Serving defence evidence or expert reports
- Challenging the CPS’s two-stage charging test (evidential and public-interest stages) where appropriate
- Proposing alternative outcomes such as a community resolution, caution, or restraining order where suitable
Why Engage in Pre-Charge Representation?
Early engagement during a criminal investigation can make a decisive difference to the outcome. Acting before charge allows your legal team to present evidence, make representations, and influence the course of the investigation—often preventing a prosecution altogether.
There is very little downside or risk to this proactive approach, provided you are open and transparent with your solicitor. Even if the CPS later decides to charge, your case will already be far more advanced and strategically prepared than most that reach court, giving you an advantage over the Prosecution as it moves forward.
Where pre-charge engagement succeeds and the investigation concludes with “no further action,” you avoid the stress, cost, and publicity of a trial – and can move forward with your life and reputation intact.
Many clients will have been represented by the duty solicitor and either given a “no comment” interview or provided answers that do not adequately cover their defence. We carefully review the interview to assess whether further clarification, mitigation, or correction is needed to strengthen your defence and improve the chances of resolving the matter without court proceedings.
Frequently, a suspect may unknowingly be able to access crucial evidence capable of assisting their defence (for example, digital messages, emails, call logs, photographs, GPS data or witness accounts) that undermine the credibility of the complainant or demonstrate that no offence was committed. At Reeds, we seek to identify such material at the earliest possible stage and examine it meticulously, assessing how it fits within the wider factual and legal context of the case.
Where appropriate, we prepare detailed written representations and evidential summaries to ensure that the police and CPS are fully aware of material that supports our client’s account. By identifying and presenting this evidence, we help ensure that investigators consider all relevant information before any charging decision is made.
There are various procedural and administrative issues that can arise during a criminal investigation. Bail conditions can sometimes be onerous and interfere significantly with day-to-day life, preventing contact with children, restricting movement, or otherwise placing unreasonable strain on family or professional life. We can apply to challenge or vary those conditions at the Magistrates’ Court. We also maintain regular contact with the officer in charge of the case to monitor progress, secure re-bail dates, and, where possible, avoid the need for you to attend the police station in person.
Other issues may also arise, such as requests for electronic device passwords or PINs, responses to RIPA notices, or the return of seized property. At Reeds, we handle these matters on your behalf, liaising directly with the police to reduce the pressure on you and ensure everything is managed appropriately.
The police sometimes decide to reinterview a suspect once further evidence has been obtained—for example, after devices have been downloaded, forensic results received, or new witnesses have come forward. This stage can be particularly risky, as the police may use withhold disclosure prior to the reinterview in order to catch you off-guard during questioning.
Our solicitors provide full support throughout any reinterview process. We obtain and review the disclosure in advance, meet with you beforehand to discuss the evidence in detail, and ensure you are fully prepared for the interview. We also liaise with the officer in charge to ensure that the interview proceeds on a voluntary basis wherever possible, avoiding unnecessary arrest or detention.
In many investigations, there are clear lines of enquiry that could support the defence but have not been pursued by the police. At Reeds, we take a proactive role in ensuring that these opportunities are not overlooked. We liaise directly with the officer in the case, setting out proposed lines of enquiry that may assist in proving your innocence or clarifying disputed facts.
Where the police fail to act on reasonable defence requests and the case proceeds to court, we are able to demonstrate how those omissions contributed to an unfair or incomplete investigation.
In some cases, it may be better to act decisively by securing defence evidence without waiting for the police to pursue their own lines of enquiry. We can obtain this evidence independently on your behalf, which may include taking witness statements, obtaining CCTV before it is deleted, instructing experts, conducting site visits, or analysing electronic and phone data. Any material relevant to your defence will be presented to the police for inclusion in the investigation file that is ultimately reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service.
At Reeds, we have access to a wide network of trusted experts across a broad range of disciplines, including software forensics, DNA and cell-site analysis, road-traffic reconstruction, translation and interpretation, toxicology, forensic accounting, psychiatry, psychology, and fingerprint or footprint analysis. Over the years, we have instructed specialists ranging from brain surgeons to exotic-animal experts. Whatever your case requires, we have the right connections to ensure it receives the highest level of expert support.
We work closely with some of the leading criminal defence chambers in London, including King’s Counsel. As one of the largest criminal defence providers in the country, we maintain strong relationships with senior barristers and are able to secure the very best advocates to assist with your case. Their involvement may include drafting legal arguments, preparing written representations, and providing expert advice on strategy and next steps. This ensures that your defence team is of the highest calibre.
Our fees vary depending on several factors, including the complexity of the case, the level of lawyer instructed, and whether counsel or expert involvement is required. We always aim to accommodate individual financial circumstances and, where appropriate, can agree for fees to be paid in instalments to make matters more manageable.
Our Private Client team can be instructed either on an hourly-rate basis or for a fixed fee. Each approach has its advantages, and we are happy to discuss which structure best suits your circumstances and the needs of your case.
If you would like to discuss our Pre-Charge Representation services further, please contact us through our contact page here. Alternatively, you can phone 0333 240 7373, or email us at [email protected]
Below are a series of successful cases conducted by our team.
R v S (2022) – GBH Allegation – Investigation closed after defence witnesses proved account false
A young man was accused of grievous bodily harm during a Sunday League football match, allegedly punching another player and breaking his jaw. Police statements were taken only from the complainant and two of his friends, despite around 30 witnesses being present.
Partner Scott Primmer was instructed to provide pre-charge representation. Recognising the investigation’s one-sided nature, he obtained ten independent statements from spectators, opposing players, and match officials. Their evidence showed that the complainant had tackled the suspect from behind, causing a collision in which the injury occurred—not a deliberate punch.
After reviewing the defence evidence, the CPS took no further action. Without pre-charge engagement, the prosecution would never have seen the statements disproving the complaint. A conviction could have resulted in a prison sentence of two to three years.
R v B (2023) – Domestic Rape Allegation – No Further Action after evidence exposed fabricated claims
A man of good character was accused of raping his wife following their separation amid a contentious custody dispute. The complainant alleged that a note written after an argument was an apology for rape and later made two further allegations said to have occurred months earlier.
Partner Scott Primmer was instructed to provide pre-charge representation. The suspect produced phone records, photographs, and messages proving one allegation false—the couple had been “sexting” about sex in the kitchen at the very time she claimed to have been assaulted there. Further evidence, including photographs and continued intimate messages, showed their relationship remained consensual.
Reeds submitted detailed representations with this material, successfully demonstrating that the allegations had been fabricated to strengthen the complainant’s position in the ongoing child-custody proceedings. The CPS took no further action. A conviction on three counts of rape could have resulted in a prison sentence of six to twelve years.
R v N (2025) – Online Sexual Images Investigation – Community order imposed following early rehabilitation work
A man of good character was under investigation for possession of prohibited images. Following a period of severe depression, he had accessed indecent material linked to online gaming and accepted responsibility for the offence. Aware that the material would be discovered, he instructed Partner Scott Primmer to help prepare mitigation and begin rehabilitation before charge.
With support from Reeds and our network of experts, the suspect undertook treatment addressing both his mental health and online behaviour. He also obtained powerful character references demonstrating his previous good standing.
Although ultimately charged and pleading guilty, the early rehabilitation and structured preparation had a significant impact. The judge imposed a community order rather than a custodial sentence, expressly noting that the rehabilitative work undertaken convinced him not to impose imprisonment. Crucially, no Sexual Harm Prevention Order was made, and the client was not placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
This case illustrates how early engagement with a specialist defence team can substantially limit the long-term impact of an investigation, even where a conviction cannot be avoided.
R v MSRM – (Stalking Involving Fear of Violence) - No further action
A man with no previous convictions or experience of Police procedure was accused of a serious offence and subject to restrictive bail conditions affecting his day-to-day life.
Arrested from his home address following a complaint that he had been following and pestering another man. He denied the offence during interview he was panicked and felt disadvantaged by not having details of his whereabouts at relevant times when a string of incidents was put to him by the Police covering a period of several months.
Senior Solicitor, Kate Macnab, was able to obtain the Police Station notes and discuss the allegations in a calm environment, checking his telephone data for appointments and to clarify his whereabouts on relevant days and time. Drafting detailed representations to the Investigating Officer to provide more comprehensive details in support of his denial, providing detail for lunch meetings details of their informal and pleasant conversation and rebutting the allegation that his behaviour was obsessive or menacing. An urgent review of the complaint took place by the Police which resulted in a decision to take no further action and subsequently arranging for the client’s phone to be returned.
R v JG – S.18 Grievous Bodily Harm – Case dropped after Defence made representations that complainant was not a credible witness
A man of good character with 2 children was accused of s.18 GBH and kidnap, allegedly bundling the Complainant into a car before assaulting him inside and dumping him on a rural road.
Having been arrested from his home address in front of his two young children he was represented by the duty solicitor and advised to go no comment. Having been released on conditional bail, Partner, Tom Brymer, was instructed to draft representations presenting his defence as well as providing evidence of the poor credibility of the complainant.
Having obtained the police station notes from the previous firm, Mr Brymer was able to present the police with a detailed account of what took place, denying the allegation. He provided the police with details of where they could obtain relevant CCTV and witness statements from independent people to help show he did not commit the offence as alleged. Additionally, we considered a number of WhatsApp conversations between the Accused and the complainant which demonstrated he was defrauding a number of people in the community, saying he would complete building work at their house and never carrying it out. This proved that the complainant was not someone who was a credible witness and would not stand up to scrutiny if the case progressed to court. As such the police and CPS decided to take no further action.
R v VD – Sexual Assault – The police took no further action regarding a youth who was accused of a serious sexual assault
The accused in this case was a 16-year school boy. During the school holidays and whilst his parents were at work, the police attended his home address and arrested him. He was petrified by their attendance and didn’t know what to do. He was advised to give an account in the interview denying the allegation, before instructing Partner Tom Brymer to obtain evidence in support of his defence and then make detailed representations explaining why the allegation should not get to Court.
Having been released, VD’s parents made contact with Mr Brymer and he quickly organised an appointment so that he could take detailed instructions and provide tailor made advice from the outset. It became apparent the version of events given by the Complainant could not be true. They were alleging the sexual assault took place on the way to school in a busy part of the town on a main road. Mr Brymer attended the alleged scene and recorded a video of the location of the offence at the alleged time of the assault showing the volume of traffic that would have been in the vicinity. It became clear that if it had happened in the way the complainant had alleged, 100’s of people would have witnessed it, yet there was no one who supported their account. Additionally, Mr Brymer secured witness statements from his friends and family outlining his good character.
In representations and an evidentiary bundle that was over 5000 words and 17 pages, Mr Brymer was able to highlight the strengths in the Defence case and the weaknesses in the police case which resulted them deciding to take no further action. This was clearly a huge relief to the Accused, but also his immediate family.
R v E - Multiple allegations of rape, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and coercive and controlling behaviour
No further action was taken after social media evidence and defence witness statements disproved the complainant’s account.
A young man of good character and a promising university student was accused by his ex-partner of 2 years, of a campaign of rape, assault (which was alleged to have happened in front of his flat mates) and coercive and controlling behaviour. The allegations were all made after our client broke up with the complainant and had commenced a new relationship.
Barrister, Dana Bilan, was instructed immediately after the client’s arrest and interview. Having reviewed vast amounts of social media evidence and obtaining numerous witness statements, she submitted detailed written representations to the Crown Prosecution Service outlining different ways in which the complainant’s evidence can be proven to be false. Without this evidence, which the police would most likely not have bothered to obtain, our client would have been charged. If convicted, he would have been at risk of a prison sentence between 7 and 9 years.
Get in touch
Information is processed inline with UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy