Arrest & Dentention

Unfortunately the information in this section maybe too late to give any advice as false accusations will likely have come completely out of the blue. Hopefully this section may help those people supporting someone who has been falsely accused to understand what happens. 

Maybe you've been arrested before and know what's going to happen next but for those of us who have been falsely accused having your freedom taken away from you is likely to be one of the most terrifying experiences of your life. 

Maybe you've been arrested at your house or maybe you've been arrested at work. Wherever you have been arrested it's likely to be a humiliating experience. Having the police involved in your life generally means something negative. 

All police are different, some have positive characteristics and have experience in dealing with life changing situations whilst others are not. I generally found the male police officers rational and reasonable whilst the female officers tend to take the side of the female in the situation. Ultimately if you live with the person who has accused you of something as the man you will be the one removed from the environment. 

You might be lucky and asked informally to go and stay somewhere else for a couple of days to let the situation calm down but if the false accuser has managed to convince the police you're violent and a danger to them you will be arrested. 

You have to understand as soon as the words "I am arresting you on suspicion of xxxx you do not have to say anything but anything to do say maybe used as evidence" you are unable to change the situation. Just remember from now on all of your actions and words will be noted and how you behave from now on is vitally important. 

DO NOT SAY A WORD OR ALLOW YOURSELF TO ENGAGE IN A CONVERSATION WITH THE POLICE ABOUT THE ALLEGATIONS UNTIL YOU HAVE SPOKEN TO A SOLICITOR WHO WILL BE PROVIDED FREE OF CHARGE IN A LITTLE WHILE

If you're not showing any aggression or resistance it's unlikely you'll be handcuffed but remember to ask to take a supply of medications if you take them, some money, a warm coat, decent sturdy shoes and any contact details of people that you know that arent in your phone. There is a chance you won't be going back to your house and possessions for a long time.

Maybe you'll be put in a police car maybe its a police van and your neighbours are likely to see this happen. 

At the police station you will be brought before a custody sergent who will process you, log your belongings and have you searched. You will be asked if you would like a solicitor to which the answer to this is always YES. You will then be placed in a police cell. The police have 24 hours to investigate what happened and either charge you where you'll be going to a magistrates court or release you on terms we'll discuss later on.

You will have no concept of time whilst you're locked in a police cell as all of your belongings will have been taken off you. You'll not have your phone or a watch. 

At somepoint you will be escorted from your cell to meet your duty solicitor. You can tell the solicitor everything and your solicitor will advise you how to approach the police interview. My advice is to follow the duty solicitors instructions exactly. 

You will tem go into an interview room with two police officers and your solicitor

Your solicitor may read a preprepared statement and then have advised to respond to every question "no comment" or the advice maybe different. Just be mindful you are being filmed. Even your reaction to being shown evidence is noted on a form that may be important later on. 

After the interview you will be returned to your cell. 

At some point you will be brought before the custody sergent again. Behind the scenes the police will have been liaising with whats called the Crown Prosecution Service or CPS as to what action to take. 

If you've been falsely accused tangible evidence such as CCTV of you doing what you've been accused of won't exist so what happens next will be based on an opinion. 

You maybe lucky and the police and CPS have seen its completely made up and release you with "No Further Action" or NFA you can go home and get on with your life.

You may be "Released Under Investigation" which means you can go home and get on with things. You just have to wait to be contacted again by the police when they decide what to do next. It will be an anxious time for you

You may be released on "Pre Charge Bail" or  "Police Bail" which will most likely come with the following conditions 1. That you're not to contact the person who has made the accusations and 2. That you are not allowed to got to a certain address.... Here's the kicker. That address maybe your own house that you pay the mortgage on or rent. Yep you've just been turned into a sofa surfer and will soon find out who your real friends are. You will also be told to report to a police station at a particular time on a date in THREE MONTHS time

Or you maybe charged meaning you will be placed back in your cell and taken to the magistrates court either that same day or the following morning.

This is possibly the most cruel part of being falsely accused. Some people will be affected by this more than others. If you didn't live with the person who falsely accused you it will be much less painful than if you did. 

Remember above where I said make sure you take a warm coat, sturdy shoes, medications, money and contact details of people not stored on your phone? If your Pre Charge Bail conditions state you can't go back to your own house you're going to need somewhere to stay at least in the short term (the next night or two) you may have also had your phone seized so they can perform a download to gather any evidence so having contact details of people written down is a good idea. There is a possibility you've been allowed a single visit back to your house to collect some belongings with the supervision of the police but you're on your own. You may have young children who don't have phones themselves and a condition will certainly say you can't contact the false accuser who in alot of cases will be your wife or girlfriend. 

You may think that it's only three months till I have to go and answer bail and this nightmare will be behind me I can handle three months. Unfortunately most people will have their bail extended for another three then another three and another. There are people who have been on police bail for over a year and still waiting to be told it's not going any further or NFA (No Further Action) There are rules to police bail 

extensions. Months 3-6 must be authorised by an inspector and months 6-9 must be authorised by a Superintendant. Anything longer than 9 months must be authorised by a magistrates court.

Ultimately the criminal justice system is so inefficient in the UK one can't help being cynical that actually no progress is being made to expedite people's cases and allow them to get on with enjoying their lives 

This website does not offer legal advice so use this information at your own discresion.

Here's a little secret about "Pre Charge" or "Police" bail. It is NOT a criminal offence to breach. You can be arrested for breaching it but you can only be charged for the original offence that you were arrested for and if relevant re-bailed under the same conditions as the original bail conditions. The custody clock is given an extension of three additional hours for each breach but the police and CPS still have to make a charging decision before the custody clock runs out. My strategy was as I knew I was innocent and there was no evidence to breach my Pre Charge bail to force a decision to be made. I wasn't going to be left in limbo