Receiving a call or letter from Greater Manchester Police asking you to attend a voluntary interview can feel like a bolt from the blue. The officer may describe the interview informally, explain that you are free to leave or suggest that they simply want to hear your side of the story. However, you are being asked to attend because you are suspected of committing a criminal offence.
A voluntary police interview is a formal interview under caution and has the same legal significance as an interview conducted following arrest. Your answers, and sometimes what you fail to mention, may influence whether the investigation ends with no further action, an out-of-court disposal or criminal charges.
Our Manchester criminal defence solicitors regularly represent clients attending voluntary interviews throughout Greater Manchester. We can contact the investigating officer, obtain the available disclosure, prepare you for the interview and advise whether you should answer questions, provide a prepared statement or exercise your right to silence. We provide this service on a private fixed-fee basis.
How Voluntary Interviews Are Used Across Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Police use voluntary interviews in a wide range of investigations, including allegations of assault, domestic abuse, sexual offences, fraud and offences involving online communications. They are also used when investigating children and young people.
With several major universities across Greater Manchester, interviews frequently arise from allegations involving students, including incidents said to have taken place on campus, in student accommodation or during nights out. An allegation can have consequences beyond the criminal investigation, particularly where the university begins its own disciplinary proceedings.
A voluntary interview may also be arranged for a serious allegation, including a sexual offence or controlling or coercive behaviour. The fact that the police have not arrested you does not indicate that they view the matter as minor or that criminal charges are unlikely. An officer may decide that an arrest is unnecessary because you have agreed to attend at an arranged time.
Preparing You for a Voluntary Police Interview
Before you attend the police station, we will contact 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, financial records 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. This can be particularly difficult where an allegation covers a long period, several incidents or extensive digital communications. 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 make no further comment. This approach can be particularly useful where it is important to put forward your position while avoiding the risks of prolonged, repetitive or speculative questioning.
Representation at Police Stations Across Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Police may arrange a voluntary interview at a station or investigation hub used by the investigating team rather than the station nearest to your home.
Our solicitors represent clients throughout Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, Bury and Oldham, including at the following locations:
Longsight Police Station
Grindlow Street, Longsight, Manchester M13 0LL
Longsight Police Station is a principal interview location for investigations covering central and south Manchester.
North Manchester Police Station at Central Park
Northampton Road, Manchester M40 5BQ
Central Park is used by teams investigating allegations across north Manchester and the surrounding area.
Pendleton Police Station
Meyrick Road, Pendleton, Salford M6 5RN
Pendleton Police Station is used for investigations based in Salford and provides a convenient interview location for clients in the western part of the Greater Manchester area.
Cheadle Heath Police Station
Spectrum Way, Stockport SK3 0SA
Cheadle Heath Police Station is a principal location for investigations covering Stockport and the southern part of Greater Manchester.
Stretford Police Station
Talbot Road, Stretford M32 0UX
Stretford Police Station is used for investigations covering Trafford, including Stretford, Sale, Urmston and surrounding areas.
Ashton Police Station
Manchester Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL7 0BQ
Ashton Police Station serves Tameside and the eastern part of Greater Manchester.
Bury Police Station
Dunster Road, Bury BL9 0RD
We regularly represent clients attending voluntary interviews in Bury and the surrounding area.
Oldham Police Station
Barn Street, Oldham OL1 1LR
Oldham Police Station is used for investigations covering Oldham and surrounding communities in north-east Greater Manchester.
This is not an exhaustive list. We can attend a voluntary interview at any police station or other agreed interview venue across Greater Manchester.
Following the Interview
After the interview, we will carefully consider whether any further action is required. The officer may indicate whether further enquiries are needed or whether the case will now be passed to an evidence review officer or the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on the next steps.
In some cases, there may be important proactive steps to take. This can include submitting representations arguing for the outcome we want to achieve: no further action where the allegation is denied, or an out-of-court disposal, such as a community resolution or caution, where that is the best achievable outcome in the circumstances.
Your Right to Legal Advice
Every person attending a voluntary police interview is entitled to legal advice before and during questioning. That right applies whether you attend voluntarily or have been arrested.
A common misconception is that asking for a solicitor will make the police think you are guilty or that an innocent person does not need legal advice. It will not. A solicitor can help you understand the allegation, assess the information disclosed by the police and avoid giving unclear or inaccurate answers because you are nervous or have misunderstood a question.
Our role is not simply to sit beside you while the interview takes place. We will prepare you beforehand, advise you on the risks attached to the available interview strategies and ensure that you are treated fairly throughout. Our separate guide explains the common mistakes people make before and during voluntary police interviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
A voluntary police interview – sometimes called a PACE interview or a “voluntary interview under caution” – is a formal recorded interview conducted by police with a person who has not been arrested.
The caution administered at the start is identical to the one given on arrest:
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
Those words are not procedural formalities. They are a direct legal warning with enforceable consequences.
Updated national police guidance makes clear that voluntary interviews should not be treated any less seriously than interviews conducted under arrest. In practice, this means officers conducting voluntary interviews in Manchester police stations are treating your attendance as a substantive investigative step – not an informal conversation. The interview is evidence-gathering, and what you say can have significant consequences later.
A voluntary interview is not an endpoint. Charges can follow days, weeks, or months after the interview concludes.
It is important to consider whether there are any proactive steps we can take after the interview to reduce the risk of prosecution. As part of pre-charge representation, we can gather defence evidence and submit detailed representations to the police outlining why the case should not proceed further.
Possible outcomes following a voluntary interview include:
- No further action – the investigation is closed and no charges are brought
- Caution – if you have admitted the offence, the police may offer you a caution
- Postal requisition – a charge and court date issued by post, without further arrest
- Further voluntary interview – police may request a second interview as the investigation develops
In some Manchester investigations – particularly complex digital, fraud, sexual offence, or historic allegation cases – suspects can remain under investigation for many months after interview before a charging decision is made.
Your solicitor should remain your point of contact throughout this period. If investigators make contact after your interview – whether to inform you of a decision or to request further engagement – speak to us before responding.
Our Manchester criminal defence team, led by Beth Mantel, has advised clients attending voluntary interviews at police stations across Greater Manchester for many years. We understand how these interviews are conducted, how disclosure is typically handled before interview, and the approach often taken by specialist investigation teams dealing with allegations such as sexual offences, domestic abuse, online communications, assault allegations, and fraud.
We provide the following services:
- Representation at the police station – we attend with you
- Pre-interview conference to review disclosure, assess risk, and agree your interview strategy
- Prepared statement drafting where needed, tailored to your specific allegations
- Post-interview support through the investigation period until a charging decision is made
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