If you have had the misfortune to be arrested by the authorities, be it the Police, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or some other agency such as the Serious Fraud Office then you will more than likely be in turmoil.
Increasingly in modern times, rather than find yourself immediately sent to Court you will be placed on what is commonly known as Pre Charge Bail or Police Bail. This is where you will not have been formally charged with any offence however the Officers will have intimated they are simply investigating an allegation.
Indeed before or during any initial interview they may well have been at pains to stress that they have not made any judgements, remain open minded about your guilt or innocence and wish to simply provide you with your opportunity to give your side of the story.
Believe them at your peril. It is a well established fact that the only reason anyone is arrested is because the officers in the case have decided they believe you are guilty. Accordingly any questioning has the sole purpose of seeking to incriminate you further either by eliciting confessions or obtaining information relevant to your defence which they will then simply seek to undermine irrespective of the veracity or truthfulness of any information provided.
It is therefore safe to assume that the investigating agency is inherently prejudiced (or bent) as against yourself. Whilst the officers themselves may not be corrupt as is normally understood by the general public (although Ashcott Solicitors have been involved in several cases where such malicious bad faith on the part of the authorities has been demonstrated to have occurred) they are institutionally corrupted by their embedded belief of your guilt prior to arrest.
Accordingly it is essential you have early representation from experienced Criminal Defence Lawyers/Solicitors who will be proactive at an early stage of the investigation. Whether this is during an initial interview or during that Pre charge bail stage. It is essential that rather than doing nothing in that early stage (in the vain hope the Police will see the error of their ways and drop the matter) that steps are taken to challenge the investigation. Good, experienced lawyers will use all means necessary to challenge the Police such as investigating the grounds for arrest to see if such action was lawful and justified. Surprisingly few lawyers investigate the validity of searches or warrants. Lawyers and solicitors at Ashcott Solicitors have been involved in successful challenges to warrants and searches in both the High Court and the Crown Court (little known provisions exist where the validity of warrants can be challenged in the Crown Court ) even before formal charges may be brought.
In addition individual seizures of property can and should be investigated and challenged if necessary. Specific legislation and recent case law applies to particularly the seizure of computer material, business documentation and also confidential or privileged material. In recent cases involving Ashcott Solicitors’ lawyers the Police have been found to have unlawfully exceeded their powers and it is sadly not unusual for the authorities to regularly exceed powers of search and seizure.
Ashcott Solicitors, Manchester are uniquely positioned through their expertise to provide prompt effective advice to anyone recently arrested or subject to search and seizure whether through a search warrant, production order or otherwise.
Should you require any advice or assistance regarding any of the above matters please do not hesitate to contact our leading specialist lawyer Will Southcott at Ashcott Solicitors 0161 2350644 or will@www.testserver765.co.uk
