A police interview can be a tense and stressful experience and going into it unprepared and alone is inadvisable.  Some people are not equipped to deal with the pressure inherent in a police interview.  A solicitor can help alleviate some of that pressure. 

Here are 13 ways a solicitor can help you at a voluntary police interview:

1.  They can advise you whether the safest option for you is to answer questions, remain silent, or give the police a written statement.
2.  Analyse the police case and advise you on the strength of the evidence against you.
3.  Make sure the officer respects your decision not to answer questions, if that is what you decide to do.
4.  If you do not want to answer questions but you do want to give your account in the interview, a solicitor can write a statement for you and read this out in the interview and tell the police that you will not be answering questions. Giving the police a written statement can be far less stressful than answering questions.
5.  Challenge the officer if their behaviour is unprofessional, for example if they raise their voice, speak in an aggressive tone, or make any inappropriate remarks during the interview.
6.  Advise you on the law. The law can be complex and nuanced and your solicitor may have a different interpretation of it to that of the officer.
7.  Advise you during your interview. You can ask for the interview to be stopped at any time if you want to speak to your solicitor in private.  The officer will stop the interview to allow you to do that.  This is one of your rights.
8.  The solicitor can intervene at any time during your interview, for example to advise you not to answer a particular question.
9.  Make sure you put your defence across clearly to the officer (assuming you have a defence) in your interview.
10.  Influence the police not to charge you with an offence, or to give you an out-of-court disposal if you have committed an offence and the evidence against you in strong. An out-of-court disposal is a way for the police to deal with low-level crime without the matter going to court.
11.  Request the officer to clarify any questions in the interview which are unclear.
12.  Prevent the officer from questioning you about matters they have not told your solicitor about in advance.
13.  If you have a defence, inform the police what further evidence they need to obtain that will assist your defence.