Pre-charge advice and engagement

You may have been released from the police station and are bailed to return on a certain date. You will be required to attend on that date where you could be reinterviewed, charged, bailed to a later date, or released under investigation.

If you have been released from the police station on pre-charge conditional bail, there may be circumstances where it would not be possible to comply with the conditions. We can help you obtaining a variation or removal of the conditions of your bail.

Usually, an initial period of pre-charge bail would last for up to 3 months. However, the police are able to extend your bail for a further periods, with the authority of senior-ranked officers. At each stage when the police consider an extension of your bail, we can make representations to the police and challenge the need for conditions remaining in place.

If the police want to extend your bail beyond a period of 9 months from arrest, an application must be made to the Magistrates’ Court. We can provide written representations on your behalf against any extension application made by the police which are then considered by the court.

If your bail expires, the police will either:

a. Charge you with an alleged offence/s.

b. Release you under investigation.

c. Take no further action.

Unfortunately when a person is released under investigation there is no timescale for the investigation to be concluded. The police will continue their investigation. Once the investigation has been completed they will either confirm no further action will be taken or send the investigation file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision to be made.

Pre-charge engagement with the police, can help speed up the investigation and provide additional material to support your defence.

This is where we communicate with the Police or investigator after the interview and before a charging decision is made. The process can enable new lines of enquiry, providing material and influencing the decisions made during the course of the investigation.

After you have been interviewed the police will continue their investigation. We are regularly involved in pre-charge engagement with police officers to help speed up the investigation, provide defence evidence and invite the police to reconsider the investigation.

Effective pre-charge engagement can have a significant impact on the investigation. It can lead to the Police and other investigators reviewing the case and deciding to take no further action.

In other cases the Police may agree to an out of Court disposal.

Pre-charge engagement is designed to influence the decisions made by the investigator and achieve a favourable, early resolution.

Making written representations as to the outcome of an investigation can protect and preserve your personal, professional and business reputation.

If you would like to discuss pre-charge engagement, please contact one of our team of experts.

Yes, you can provide material to the police which assists the account you have given to the police and/or assists your defence.

We can assist you in considering the material, speaking to defence witnesses and liaising with the police.