If you have received a request from Thames Valley Police to attend a voluntary interview in Slough, Maidenhead, Windsor, Bracknell or elsewhere in East Berkshire, we can provide specialist representation.
Being invited rather than arrested can make the process appear less serious. However, it is still a formal interview under caution in which you will be questioned as a suspect in relation to a criminal offence. 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 criminal defence solicitors regularly represent clients attending voluntary interviews throughout Slough and East Berkshire. We can contact the officer before you attend, establish the allegation and available evidence, meet with you to prepare your account. We will then carefully 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 Slough and East Berkshire
Thames Valley Police may arrange a voluntary interview at a station or police building used by the investigating team rather than the location nearest to your home. Our solicitors represent clients from across East Berkshire, including Slough, Maidenhead, Windsor, Bracknell, Ascot, Langley, Burnham, Crowthorne and Sandhurst.
Slough Police Station
Windsor Road, Slough SL1 2HH
Slough Police Station is a principal interview location for investigations covering Slough, Langley, Colnbrook, Burnham and the surrounding area.
Maidenhead Police Station
Bridge Road, Maidenhead SL6 8LP
Maidenhead Police Station is used for investigations covering Maidenhead and surrounding parts of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
Windsor Police Station
Alma Road, Windsor SL4 3ES
Windsor Police Station remains operational, although it is not open to the public for general enquiries. Voluntary interviews may be arranged there for investigations covering Windsor and the surrounding area.
Bracknell Police Station
The Broadway, Bracknell RG12 1AD
Bracknell Police Station is used for investigations covering Bracknell, Ascot, Crowthorne, Sandhurst and the surrounding area.
This is not an exhaustive list. We can attend a voluntary interview at any police station or other agreed interview venue in Slough or elsewhere across East Berkshire.
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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