Police Interviews
Advice and representation before, during and after a police interview. We protect your right to silence and your right to legal representation.
You Have Been Asked to Speak With Police
Being asked to attend a police station, or to answer questions on the spot, is unsettling. What you say in that moment can shape the entire course of a criminal matter, and it is entirely reasonable to want advice before you decide anything. You are entitled to speak with a lawyer first, and in most situations you are entitled to say nothing at all.
Should You Participate in a Police Interview?
Participating is rarely required and is not always in your interests. Police are trained interviewers and questions that sound casual can be building toward an admission. We help you decide, on the facts of your matter, whether participating helps or hurts your position.
Your Right to Remain Silent
Outside a narrow set of situations, such as providing your name and address, you have a right to decline to answer police questions. In NSW, a court cannot draw an adverse inference against you simply because you chose to stay silent during an interview.
What happens once police make contact
Before, During and After the Interview
Police will usually caution you and explain the allegation in general terms before an interview begins. Everything said is recorded and can later be played to a court, often without the context in which it was said. Afterwards, police decide whether to charge you, release you pending further inquiries, or take no further action.
Arrest, Detention and Preparing in Advance
Police can detain you for a limited investigation period to question you or take identifying particulars, and that period is not unlimited. If you know in advance that police want to speak with you, a short conversation beforehand lets us understand the likely allegation and plan the best approach.
Our process
How a matter of this kind moves from first contact to outcome.
Contact a Solicitor
Call before you attend the station or answer any questions, even informally.
Understand Your Rights
We explain your right to silence and the limited situations where you must answer.
Prepare for Police Contact
We clarify the allegation with the officer in charge and plan the best approach.
Attend or Decline the Interview
We attend with you where participating is in your interests, or assist you to decline properly.
Advice About Next Steps
We advise on bail, charges, court dates and any property or samples taken by police.
How Shah & Co Lawyers can assist
If police have asked to speak with you or a family member, here is how we help before anyone says a word.
Urgent Advice
Confidential advice by phone at short notice if police ask you to attend a station or have an informal chat.
Rights Advice
Clear guidance on the right to silence, the right to a lawyer and the limited situations where you must answer.
Liaison With Police
Contact with the officer in charge to clarify the allegation, proposed charges and whether attendance is required.
Interview Attendance
Attendance with you at the police station for a recorded interview where participating is in your interests.
Written Statements
Preparation of a written statement or a no comment position where that is the better course.
Post-Interview Advice
Advice on bail conditions, fingerprints, DNA samples and the return of seized property.
What to have ready
A little preparation makes a real difference if police want to speak with you.
- Any correspondence, text messages or emails from police.
- A timeline of the events police are asking about, for your own reference only.
- Contact details for a support person who can attend with you.
- Details of any property, phone or vehicle already seized by police.
Frequently asked questions
General information only. Every matter turns on its own facts.
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