How to Handle Police Interviews: Advice for Assault Defendants

The question of how to handle police interviews is one that presents itself on a regular basis. In general, those accused of assault or other serious crimes should not participate in police interviews other than to give their name and address and ask for a lawyer.

Talking to police is risky: the police are trying to elicit information from you that can be used against you in court. If you say the wrong thing, you are hurting your own case. For this reason, you should be silent except to ask for a lawyer and be given the ability to contact one.

You should only speak to police if your defence lawyer is with you or advises you to.

You are not obligated to talk to police except to give them your basic information. You have the right to remain silent, and if you exercise that right, it cannot be used against you in court. So, that is your best bet until you have retained a lawyer and spoken with him or her.

Remaining silent also holds true everywhere else. By this we mean do not discuss details of your case with friends or family. If you are held and not out on bond, do not discuss your case with anyone you meet inside jail. Exercising your right to silence is the best thing you can do for yourself unless advised otherwise by your lawyer.

Police

You have to understand that the police will use all kinds of techniques to try to get you to talk:

They may seem nice.

They may role-play a good cop bad cop scenario.

They may tell you that your case will have a better outcome if you talk to them.

It is never to your advantage to give interview to the police, and we advise clients and prospective clients, those accused of assault or other crimes, not to do it.

If you have been charged with assault, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law. 

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients. 

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.