How to defend yourself against false allegations?

How to defend yourself against false allegations?

If you are reading this blog, it is likely an allegation has been made against you that you believe is untrue. You may have heard a rumour about this allegation, you may have been arrested or contacted by the police about it.

You may be feeling angry, scared or uncertain about what these allegations are and what they mean.

Your first thought may be “what should I do to prove these allegations are untrue?”.  Our advice would be – contact us without delay as taking proper legal advice from a specialist criminal lawyer at the very beginning can often ensure a far better outcome for you.

Instruct a Solicitor at the Earliest Opportunity

When someone is arrested or interviewed voluntarily for a crime they have not committed, they often believe there is no need to have a solicitor in police interview.  Or, they might feel that having a solicitor present somehow suggests guilt.

You have a right to free and independent legal advice whilst in police custody. Whether you opt for the Duty Solicitor (free) option or choose to instruct a lawyer of your choosing is a matter of personal preference and, perhaps for some, affordability.  But you should always exercise that right.

Having a solicitor present in a police interview could change the course of the investigation drastically.

At Old Bailey Solicitors, our experienced and knowledgeable criminal defence solicitors will assess all aspects of your case, including those you may not have thought about- such as whether you may not have committed the offence alleged, but could be admitting to a lesser, or even a more serious, offence by speaking in interview.

They will consider the weight of the evidence against you to provide you with clear-cut advice on the best course of action for you. Sometimes you may be advised to answer no comment, even when you are entirely innocent of the offence alleged, due to the extent of the evidence against you. It is our job to explain to the court, if necessary, why no comment was made and tackle the perception that silence means guilt.

For the average, law-abiding person, the above may not even come into consideration in such a high-stress and daunting situation. Step one to defending yourself against false criminal allegations, is always, every time, exercise your right to a solicitor.

What if I have already been charged?

If you have already been interviewed without representation and are under investigation or have been charged with an offence, make contact with us as soon as possible.

It is likely, in the circumstances of you saying you’re innocent of an offence, our advice would be to plead not guilty at your first hearing.

As such, your case will be listed for trial. This could either be at the Crown Court or Magistrates’ Court, depending on the offence alleged.  Initially, this is a decision for the court.  But in some instances, you may be able to choose where the trial takes place.  You will need advice before making that decision.

Our role would be to prepare your case for trial, collect evidence to help the defence case and ensure you are ready to give evidence in court. In many cases, a Defence Statement will be drafted for use in court, you can learn more about this here.

How can I prove that I am innocent?

The perception that you have to prove your innocence is commonplace but incorrect. You may feel you need to do everything in your power to dispel a false allegation. Whilst a police interview may be the place to inform the police that you are innocent, the ‘burden of proof’ in criminal cases is on the prosecution, not you.

The role of the prosecution is to make the jury or Magistrates sure that you have committed the offence alleged. ‘Sure’ does not mean they ‘think you might have done something’, nor does it mean ‘you could have done it’, they have to be ‘sure’- certain that you have done what is alleged.

You may have heard the term ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’, which is another way of framing the term ‘sure’- that they have no reasonable doubt that you have committed the offence.

You would therefore be right in thinking that the role of a defence solicitor is to place doubt in the jury or Magistrates’ minds.  So, how do we do this?

Your account of the incident may differ from the evidence in the hands of the prosecution.  Or your interpretation of what happened may change the perception of your guilt.  One example might be an alibi defence, which would put the prosecution case in a different light and help the court to conclude that you did not, or could not have committed the offence.

Case Study Example:

Our client, Mr X, was charged in respect of a number of bike thefts. Mr X has a number of previous convictions relating to thefts of bikes and police commonly associate our client with these sorts of offences.

Our solicitors analysed the prosecution case with a fine-tooth comb; there were a number of thefts over a number of different dates. The prosecution case was that Mr X matched the description by eye witnesses and was identifiable on CCTV.

Our solicitors realised that Mr X could not have committed the offences over the three dates for a couple of different reasons.

• Offences A and B

Offence A and B were allegations of a bike thefts using bolt-cutters from two different bike racks. The dates on which these offences occurred were when Mr X was in custody on other matters.

• Offence C

Offence C occurred on Mr X’s release from custody. In this instance, the perpetrator can be seen on CCTV scaling an 8ft fence to break into an office block’s cycle storage area.

At this time, Mr X had suffered from a bad leg injury which required him to use crutches – he could not have physically scaled the fence.

The matter was dropped after our solicitors wrote representations to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) providing them with the evidence that our client could not have committed the alleged offences for the above-mentioned reasons and that there was no realistic prospect of conviction.

As noted above, in many circumstances, it may be appropriate to ask the Crown Prosecution Service to review a case and this may be one way to prove your innocence.

This may take the form of pointing out inconsistencies in the allegations faced, or where the complainant has asked to drop the charges.

What else can I do?

Building a strong defence case means ensuring that all available evidence that you did not commit the offence is available to us, as your lawyers.  Such evidence can take many forms, including:

• Witness Testimony: It may be the case that a friend saw something take place that did not involve you, or can provide an account that you were with them at the time of the offence. Or they may have seen the alleged victim punch you before you punched back in self defence. If this is the case, our expert solicitors will contact the individual to obtain a witness statement. They will carefully analyse their testimony to consider whether they are a credible witness to rely upon in court.
• CCTV or Video Footage: Oftentimes, the Crown Prosecution Service will rely on CCTV footage to prove a person committed an offence. However, it is always pertinent to consider whether there is any CCTV footage which proves a person didn’t commit the offence. Many people across the country now have Ring or equivalent video doorbells which show a person’s comings and goings. It may be the case that you can provide footage of your home video footage, or a neighbour’s, to show you were at the property when the offence was committed. This is just one example of how CCTV footage can aid a defence case.
• Phone Records: It is now more commonplace than ever before for families to use ‘Find My Friends’ or apps such as ‘Life360’. These apps are made for families to ensure their children are safe, but they also prove location. These apps store data which can be used to the advantage of the defence to prove you were not where the prosecution suggests. Other data, such as call log history, social media posts, photographs and text history may also be relevant considerations in many cases.

These are just a few examples of how you can defend yourself against false allegations and build a positive defence which helps the court to find you not guilty.  It may be the case that these options are not available to you; in these circumstances, our expert solicitors will talk you through the strength of the evidence against you and discuss with you the importance of your own testimony.

In conclusion

False allegations can be scary and leave you feeling incredibly stressed and concerned.  If you are accused of a crime you have not committed, you should contact us without delay as the earlier you have expert legal assistance involved in your case, the better your chance of success.

You should always refrain from contacting the person who has accused you of committing a crime.

Even if you have no formal bail conditions to prevent contact, any attempt to prevent them from taking allegations forward or asking them to drop any allegation (whether false or true) could be perceived as witness intimidation or an attempt to pervert the course of justice, which are serious criminal offences.

If you have not committed a crime and are in need of expert, non-judgement legal advice, please contact our specialist team today for a confidential, sensitive discussion about your circumstances.