After a Voluntary Police Interview: What Happens Next and What You Need to Do
You walked out of that police station on your own two feet. No handcuffs, no charge sheet, no drama. And yet — something feels unresolved. You weren’t arrested, but you weren’t told you’re in the clear either. The officer thanked you, said they’d be in touch, and that was that.
So now what?
The period after a voluntary police interview is genuinely one of the most misunderstood stages in the UK criminal justice process. Not because the law is particularly complicated — but because nobody explains it to you. Most people leave assuming that because they came in voluntarily, the whole thing must be fairly low stakes. That assumption, unfortunately, is one of the things that catches people out most often.
What you said in that room — or what you chose not to say — is now on record. The investigation has not paused. The police are still working. And the decision they or the Crown Prosecution Service eventually makes could change things significantly.
This guide explains exactly what happens after a voluntary police interview in the UK: what the police are doing behind the scenes, what the possible outcomes are, how long you can realistically expect to wait, what your rights are during that time, and — critically — what you should be doing right now to protect your position.
Table of Contents
What Is a Voluntary Police Interview?
Definition: Voluntary Police Interview A voluntary police interview — formally called a Voluntary Interview Under Caution (VIUC) — is a recorded interview conducted by police where the person attends without being arrested. It is governed by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and carried out under the standard police caution. The person is technically free to leave at any time and is not under arrest, but anything said during the interview can be used as evidence in criminal proceedings.
Under PACE and its associated Codes of Practice, police can invite someone in for questioning voluntarily when they believe that person has information relevant to a criminal offence. You’re not obliged to attend and you’re free to leave at any point — but once you sat down and that recording started, the legal weight of the caution applied in full:
“You do not have to say anything. But it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
Those aren’t just procedural words an officer rattles off before the real conversation starts. They have genuine legal consequences. Every answer you gave — every silence, every hesitation, every qualification — is now part of the police investigation file, and it stays there.
What many people don’t realise is that the voluntary interview format was introduced partly as a way of avoiding the administrative burden of arrest — not as a sign that the matter is minor. From a police investigation standpoint, a voluntary interview produces exactly the same evidential product as an interview following arrest. The recording carries the same weight. The caution is identical. The potential outcomes are the same.
Voluntary Interview vs. Arrest Interview: Key Differences
People often assume a voluntary interview is a softer, less serious version of a police interview. Legally, the differences are narrower than most people expect.
| Voluntary Interview (VIUC) | Interview Following Arrest | |
|---|---|---|
| Arrested? | No | Yes |
| Free to leave? | Yes, at any time | No — detained up to 24 hours |
| Caution given? | Yes — identical caution | Yes — identical caution |
| Legal advice available? | Yes, free under Duty Solicitor scheme | Yes, free under Duty Solicitor scheme |
| Recording required? | Yes | Yes |
| Evidence admissible in court? | Yes | Yes |
| Can lead to charge? | Yes | Yes |
| Police powers to search/sample? | No (without consent or warrant) | Yes |
| Custody sergeant oversight? | No | Yes |
| Time limits on detention? | N/A — you can leave | 24 hours standard (extendable) |
The key takeaway is that the format is more informal, but the legal stakes are identical. A voluntary interview can — and regularly does — result in a criminal charge. Treating it as anything less than a formal legal event is a mistake that experienced criminal defence solicitors see made repeatedly.
💡 Practitioner Tip: One experienced criminal defence solicitor who regularly represents clients at police stations puts it this way: “The voluntary label is about administrative convenience for the police. For the person being interviewed, the legal significance is exactly the same. I’ve seen cases where someone came in voluntarily for what they thought was a routine chat, gave answers that looked perfectly reasonable in isolation, and those same answers formed the core of the prosecution case against them three years later.”
What Happens After You Leave the Station?
Here’s the part of the process most people never see — and the part that matters most in the weeks immediately after your interview.
After the interview ends, the recording is preserved and typically transcribed. The investigating officer doesn’t file it away and move on. They review your answers carefully — not just what you said, but what you chose not to say, where you hesitated, whether your account is consistent with other evidence they already hold, and what new lines of enquiry your answers might open up.
Your interview is added to the case file alongside everything else gathered so far: witness statements, CCTV footage, phone extraction data, financial records, forensic results. It becomes one piece of a picture the officer is trying to complete. Sometimes something in your interview confirms what they already suspected. Sometimes it redirects the investigation. And sometimes — more often than people expect — it opens new avenues. A name you mentioned. A time you placed yourself somewhere. A detail that contradicts a witness account.
The investigation continues. In more complex cases, the officer may need weeks or months more before they’re in a position to put a file before the Crown Prosecution Service. They might need to obtain further phone records, commission expert analysis, or re-interview other witnesses in light of what you said.
Most people expect to hear something fairly quickly. That expectation is understandable, but it’s rarely how it unfolds. The police won’t typically make an immediate charging or closure decision after a voluntary interview. Leaving the station without a clear answer isn’t unusual — it is, in the majority of cases, exactly what happens.
The Four Possible Outcomes — And What Each One Means
Quick Answer: After a voluntary police interview in the UK, there are four possible outcomes: (1) No Further Action (NFA) — the investigation is closed with no charge; (2) Charge — you are formally charged and given a court date; (3) CPS Referral — the police send the full file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision; or (4) Released Under Investigation (RUI) — the investigation continues with no time limit and no formal bail conditions imposed.
1. No Further Action (NFA)
NFA is the outcome everyone hopes for. It means the police or Crown Prosecution Service have reviewed the totality of the evidence and concluded either that there isn’t sufficient evidence to charge you, or that charging you wouldn’t be in the public interest. You’ll usually receive written confirmation.
No criminal record arises from the investigation itself. No caution, no charge, no conviction. For most people, NFA feels like an enormous relief — and it should.
One important nuance: NFA doesn’t always mean the file is permanently closed. If compelling new evidence surfaces later, the investigation can theoretically be reopened. In practice, this is relatively uncommon, but it does happen — particularly in serious cases where new witnesses come forward or digital evidence is later recovered.
2. Charged with a Criminal Offence
If the evidence crosses the threshold required by the Full Code Test — realistic prospect of conviction, and prosecution in the public interest — you will be charged. This might happen at the police station, with an officer asking you to attend to be formally charged. Or you might receive a postal requisition through the post — a document requiring you to appear at a magistrates’ court on a specific date.
A charge doesn’t mean a conviction. It is the beginning of a court process, and you will have the opportunity to enter a plea, challenge the evidence, and defend yourself — with the help of a solicitor.
3. Referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)
For more serious or legally complex offences, the police cannot make the charging decision independently. They compile the full case file — your interview, all witness statements, forensic reports, digital evidence, the investigator’s summary — and submit it to the CPS.
The CPS applies the Full Code Test from the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The test has two limbs: first, is there a realistic prospect of conviction based on the evidence (the evidential stage)? And second, is prosecution in the public interest (the public interest stage)? Both must be satisfied. If the evidential stage isn’t met, the public interest stage doesn’t even need to be considered.
This is the stage where pre-charge engagement, covered in more detail below, can be particularly powerful.
4. Released Under Investigation (RUI)
Released Under Investigation means the police are actively continuing to investigate but are not imposing formal bail conditions on you. There is no statutory time limit. RUI can last for months — and in serious, complex cases, for years.
Since the Policing and Crime Act 2017 placed restrictions on pre-charge bail, RUI has become the default position in many cases. The result is that thousands of people across England and Wales are living in a state of legal limbo — not charged, not cleared, not given a timeline, and not subject to any formal conditions.
It is one of the more psychologically difficult outcomes. Daily life continues. Work, family, relationships — all carrying on while a criminal investigation runs silently in the background.
💡 Practitioner Tip: If you are placed on RUI, your solicitor should write formally to the investigating officer at regular intervals requesting a case review and update. While there is no legal obligation on the police to provide regular updates, formal correspondence establishes a record, demonstrates active legal representation, and occasionally prompts movement on cases that have stalled administratively.
How Long Will You Actually Be Waiting?
Quick Answer: After a voluntary police interview in the UK, you may wait anywhere from a few weeks to several years for a decision. Minor offences may be resolved within weeks. Serious or complex cases — fraud, sexual offences, serious violence, financial crime — routinely take 12 to 36 months, particularly where the Crown Prosecution Service is involved.
For straightforward, lower-level matters — minor public order, low-value theft, non-complex harassment — a decision might come within four to eight weeks. For anything involving digital evidence, forensic analysis, multiple witnesses, or specialist investigators, a year is often a conservative estimate. Financial crime investigations regularly take two to three years to reach a charging decision.
Factors that routinely extend investigation timelines include:
- Digital evidence volume. A single phone download can generate thousands of pages of data. Investigators have to review it, and specialist digital forensic units are chronically under-resourced.
- Forensic analysis. DNA, toxicology, and expert reports each operate on their own queues, which are often long.
- CPS workload. The Crown Prosecution Service has faced years of significant resource pressure. Charging decision timelines reflect that.
- Specialist units. Cases involving sexual offences, financial crime, cybercrime, or county lines drug supply are handled by specialist investigators — often with large caseloads.
- Multiple suspects. Where your interview is one of several, the police have to complete the broader investigation before making charging decisions.
- Disclosure obligations. The police are legally required to disclose material that might undermine the prosecution case or support the defence — a process that adds time, particularly in complex cases.
None of these factors are within your control. But knowing they exist can help make the waiting slightly more manageable — and can inform what you tell your solicitor to push for.
Realistic expectation: If you had a voluntary interview in connection with a serious allegation — sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, large-scale fraud — treat an 18-month timeline as a reasonable working assumption, not a worst-case scenario. Some cases run significantly longer.
Your Legal Rights After a Voluntary Police Interview
Many people assume their rights were only relevant inside the interview room. They weren’t — and they aren’t. Here is what you remain entitled to once the interview is over.
The Right to Legal Representation — And Why It Matters More Than People Think
You had the right to a free solicitor during the interview under the Duty Solicitor scheme. This is a statutory entitlement under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. It must be made clear to you before any questioning begins. If it wasn’t, or if you felt any pressure — however subtle — to proceed without legal advice, a solicitor should look at that now.
Why does it matter after the fact? Because if the police failed to properly advise you of your right to free legal advice before your voluntary interview, there are grounds under Section 78 of PACE to argue that the interview should be excluded as evidence. Courts have discretion to exclude evidence where admitting it would have an adverse effect on the fairness of proceedings. It’s not automatic, but it is a real legal argument — and one that has succeeded in Crown Court proceedings.
The Right to Request Case Updates
There is no statutory right to progress reports on your preferred timetable. But your solicitor can write formally to the investigating officer or, where the file has been submitted, to the CPS, requesting a case status update. This doesn’t always produce much — but it establishes that you are legally represented, that the matter is being actively monitored, and occasionally it prompts movement on cases that have drifted.
The Right to Pre-Charge Engagement
Under current CPS guidelines — specifically the Pre-Charge Engagement Guidance published by the CPS — suspects, through their legal representative, can make written representations to the prosecution before any charging decision is reached in appropriate cases. This right is grounded in the principle that the CPS’s charging decision should be informed and fair. It is covered in more detail in its own section below.
The Right to Silence — Properly Understood
If you answered “no comment” to some or all questions, that was a lawful strategy. It is not an admission of guilt and a jury cannot be told simply to assume guilt from silence. Courts receive a specific judicial direction — based on the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 — about the limited circumstances in which an adverse inference from silence may be drawn, and those circumstances are narrow.
A solicitor can ensure that if your silence becomes an issue at trial, it is properly contextualised — for example, by explaining that you were advised to give no comment answers pending receipt of further disclosure from the police.
The Right to Challenge Unlawfully Obtained Evidence
If the police breached PACE codes during your voluntary interview — failed to properly caution you, failed to advise you of your right to free legal advice, conducted the interview oppressively, or asked questions in a way that was likely to produce unreliable answers — that interview may be challengeable under Section 78 of PACE. This isn’t a technicality. It’s a substantive legal protection, and experienced defence solicitors examine interview recordings closely for exactly this kind of issue.
Can the Police Arrest You After a Voluntary Interview?
Yes — and this is one of the most important things to understand.
Attending a voluntary interview provides no legal immunity from subsequent arrest. This surprises people. The logic of “I came in voluntarily, so they can’t now arrest me” feels intuitive — but it has no legal basis.
If new evidence emerges after your interview, if the investigation develops in ways that require greater police powers, or if the officer simply decides that a formal arrest is now necessary to conduct a further interview — they can act on that. An arrest brings powers a voluntary setting does not: the authority to detain you for up to 24 hours (extendable to 36 hours with superintendent authorisation, and up to 96 hours with magistrates’ approval in serious cases), to search your person and property, to take intimate and non-intimate samples, and to place you on bail with conditions.
Real-world scenario: A person — call him David — attended a voluntary interview in connection with a fraud investigation. He answered questions without a solicitor, believed the matter was straightforward, and left feeling reasonably confident. Eight months later, following digital evidence recovered from a co-suspect’s phone, he was arrested at home at 6am. The arrest brought with it a search of his home and office, and the seizure of business records. The voluntary interview he’d given months earlier was now part of a much larger case — and answers he’d given were used to contradict evidence found on the co-suspect’s device.
If you receive any contact asking you to return to the station — a phone call, a letter, a visit from an officer — do not attend without speaking to a criminal defence solicitor first. The situation may have developed considerably since your interview. Arriving uninformed could be a serious mistake.
What Is Pre-Charge Engagement — And Can It Help You?
Definition: Pre-Charge Engagement Pre-charge engagement is the process by which a suspect’s legal representative makes written or oral representations to the Crown Prosecution Service or police before a formal charging decision is reached. It is supported by the CPS Pre-Charge Engagement Guidance and is designed to ensure that the prosecution’s charging decision is informed by the suspect’s perspective and any relevant material that the police investigation may not have fully addressed.
Pre-charge engagement is one of the most powerful tools available after a voluntary police interview — and one of the most underused.
In practice, it works like this: your solicitor drafts a formal written submission addressed to the CPS lawyer handling your file (or in some cases, the Senior Investigating Officer). That submission sets out the factual and legal arguments in your favour. It might challenge the reliability of a key witness. It might present documentary evidence that contradicts the prosecution’s account. It might highlight that the public interest threshold is not met given your personal circumstances. It might raise legal arguments about the admissibility of evidence. Sometimes, it simply provides context that the police investigation didn’t pursue.
The CPS is not obliged to accept your submissions. But prosecutors are required to consider them — and a well-constructed pre-charge submission absolutely does influence charging decisions. In cases where the evidential picture is mixed, or where the public interest test is genuinely debatable, it can tip the balance.
Pre-charge engagement tends to be most effective when:
- The evidence is circumstantial or relies significantly on the credibility of a single witness
- There is exculpatory evidence that the police haven’t fully explored or that wasn’t raised in the interview
- The public interest in prosecution is genuinely uncertain given your circumstances
- There are arguable legal points about the admissibility of key evidence
- Your personal or professional circumstances are relevant to the public interest assessment (this is more relevant than many people realise — the Code for Crown Prosecutors explicitly includes personal mitigation as a public interest factor)
Real-world scenario: A teacher — call her Sarah — attended a voluntary interview under caution after a complaint was made by a former student alleging inappropriate communication. She had attended without a solicitor and answered questions honestly, but some of her answers about the nature of the communication were taken out of context. Her solicitor was instructed after the interview. Following a detailed review of the evidence, the solicitor submitted a pre-charge engagement letter to the CPS setting out the full context of the communications, providing supporting character evidence, and making submissions about why the public interest test was not met given Sarah’s unblemished record and the nature of the allegation. The CPS issued NFA seven weeks later.
This isn’t always the outcome. But the point is that pre-charge engagement creates an opportunity that simply doesn’t exist once a charge is issued. The window to use it is limited. If your case is still at the pre-charge stage, raise it with your solicitor now.
Should You Have Had a Solicitor Present?
Yes — and not because you necessarily had anything to hide. Because understanding the process is what the right to legal advice is there for.
The voluntary interview format is, by design, less intimidating than an interview following arrest. There’s no cell. No custody clock. Often, no particular urgency in the atmosphere. Officers conducting voluntary interviews are generally professional and measured — because that approach is more likely to result in cooperation and useful answers. That environment isn’t accidental. It’s calibrated.
People talk more freely in that setting. They qualify answers less carefully. They fill silences. They volunteer additional context. They explain. And sometimes, in doing so, they say things that look entirely reasonable in the moment but that read very differently when transcribed and placed before a prosecutor alongside other evidence.
A solicitor present in that room changes the dynamic — not by making you uncooperative, but by ensuring you understand the precise legal significance of each question before you answer it. They can advise you before you respond. They can ask for the interview to be paused if a question needs discussing privately. They can push back on questions that are improper or misleading. And they begin building your defence from the first word — not weeks later, after a charge has already been issued.
If you attended your voluntary interview without a solicitor, it’s not a disaster. But the appropriate response is to instruct one now, not to wait.
💡 Practitioner Tip: The Duty Solicitor scheme means you were entitled to free legal advice for the interview — not just a duty solicitor physically at the station, but telephone advice from a duty solicitor before answering any questions. If the officer did not clearly and specifically tell you about this entitlement before the interview began, flag that to the solicitor you now instruct. It matters.
What to Do Right Now: Step-by-Step
These aren’t abstract suggestions. They are the specific actions that have a direct bearing on what happens next.
Step 1: Instruct a criminal defence solicitor today. Not after you see what happens. Not once you know whether you’re being charged. Today. The sooner a solicitor is across your case — reviewing the interview, writing to the police, assessing whether pre-charge engagement is appropriate — the more they can do. Many firms offer a free initial consultation. Legal aid may be available. Don’t let cost assumptions stop you from making the call.
Step 2: Write down everything you remember about the interview. Every question that was asked. What you said. What you didn’t say. Where you hesitated. Which topics the officer returned to. Which questions felt pointed or pressured. Which parts of your account you felt were misunderstood. Memory deteriorates faster than people expect, and this document — kept secure, shared only with your solicitor — could be important later, particularly if PACE compliance becomes an issue.
Step 3: Stop discussing it with anyone other than your solicitor. Friends, family, partners — everyone. Don’t vent on WhatsApp. Don’t mention it on social media. Don’t bring it up at work. Don’t discuss it in text messages. Police routinely apply for and receive phone download warrants during active investigations. Your private conversations are not as private as you assume.
Step 4: Do not contact anyone connected to the investigation. No calls to a complainant. No messages to potential witnesses. No social media contact with anyone involved, even tangentially. Even an entirely innocent and well-intentioned message — an apology, an explanation, a request to talk — can be characterised as an attempt to interfere with a witness or pervert the course of justice. That is a separate criminal offence that could significantly worsen your position.
Step 5: Preserve any evidence that supports your account. Text messages, emails, call logs, bank records, CCTV from your own property, location data, receipts, diary entries, photographs — if anything supports your version of events, preserve it now. Don’t assume the police are gathering evidence that helps you. They aren’t. Your solicitor needs to know this material exists so they can advise on how to use it.
Step 6: Ask your solicitor specifically about pre-charge engagement. Don’t assume they’ll raise it automatically. Ask directly: “Is pre-charge engagement appropriate in my case? Is there a window to make representations to the CPS before they decide?” The answer will depend on where the investigation stands and the nature of the case — but asking the question ensures it’s considered.
What a Criminal Defence Solicitor Does at This Stage
The misconception that a defence solicitor only becomes relevant once you’re charged and heading to court is one of the most consistently costly misunderstandings in criminal defence practice.
After a voluntary police interview, a specialist criminal defence solicitor will:
Review the interview recording or transcript in detail. Not to confirm what you said was fine — but to identify PACE breaches, leading questions, failures to properly advise on legal rights, or anything else that might later be used to challenge the admissibility of your interview as evidence.
Write formally to the investigating officer. This establishes legal representation on the record, requests case status information, and signals that the investigation is being actively monitored. It changes how the case is handled.
Assess the pre-charge engagement opportunity. In appropriate cases, they will draft and submit representations to the CPS or police before any charging decision is reached. This is the single most powerful intervention available at this stage, and it is available only while the case is pre-charge.
Advise you on any further interview requests. If the police contact you for a second interview, your solicitor advises whether to attend, under what conditions, and how to handle specific lines of questioning. Attending a second voluntary interview without advice after you’ve already been interviewed once is a significant risk.
Challenge disproportionate investigation conditions. Where RUI is prolonged and causing demonstrable prejudice, a solicitor can make formal representations about the delay and, in extreme cases, explore whether abuse of process arguments are available.
Prepare your defence from the outset. If a charge eventually comes, they are already across the evidence, the investigation timeline, the weaknesses in the prosecution case, and your account. That matters enormously in the quality of defence that follows.
Common Mistakes People Make After a Voluntary Interview
These are the errors that experienced criminal defence solicitors encounter regularly — all avoidable.
Assuming the voluntary format signals low stakes. The police use voluntary interviews for serious offences precisely because people cooperate more willingly in that setting. The voluntariness is procedural, not a reflection of the investigation’s gravity.
Talking about it to people around them. Not in the interview — afterwards. Informal conversations about what was said, what the police asked, or what the case involves can end up as evidence if the people you spoke to are later contacted or have their communications reviewed.
Trying to resolve things informally. Calling a complainant to apologise or explain. Messaging a witness. Sending a conciliatory note to someone involved. These actions, however benign the intent, risk being characterised as witness interference. Criminal solicitors see this mistake regularly, and it rarely ends well.
Posting about it online. Deleted social media posts, WhatsApp messages, and direct messages are routinely recovered during digital investigations. Even indirect references to legal stress or “police stuff” are potentially retrievable and potentially relevant.
Waiting to see what happens before getting a solicitor. Pre-charge engagement is not possible once a charge is issued. Evidence degrades. The earlier legal advice is sought, the more options are available.
Going back to the police station without legal advice. If the police contact you again — by any means — do not attend, call back, or respond without first speaking to your solicitor. The request may signal a significant development in the case that you are not yet aware of.
Real-World Scenarios: What This Looks Like in Practice
These anonymised scenarios are drawn from common patterns in criminal defence practice. They are composites used to illustrate how cases unfold — not descriptions of specific individuals.
Scenario 1: The Unexpectedly Serious Case
Mark attended a voluntary interview in connection with a workplace allegation — a dispute that, from his perspective, had been entirely professional. He came in without a solicitor because he thought the whole thing would be sorted out quickly once he’d explained his side. He answered every question. He was cooperative and detailed.
Three months later, he was referred to the CPS. Eighteen months after that, he was charged. The answers he’d given in the voluntary interview — particularly a phrase he used to describe his working relationship with the complainant — were used as part of the prosecution narrative. His criminal defence solicitor, instructed only after the charge, had to work around an interview that had never been stress-tested.
The lesson: cooperation and transparency are not the same thing as having legal advice. Mark’s account may well have been entirely truthful. But the way it was expressed, in a room without a solicitor, without advice on how specific questions were framed, left vulnerabilities that weren’t necessary.
Scenario 2: Pre-Charge Engagement Changes the Outcome
Aisha attended a voluntary interview in connection with a financial matter — an allegation about how company funds had been managed. She instructed a solicitor the day after the interview. The solicitor reviewed the case, identified that key documentary evidence contradicted the prosecution’s factual basis, and submitted a detailed pre-charge engagement letter to the CPS before any charging decision was made.
The letter included financial records, correspondence between the relevant parties, and submissions on the public interest. Seven weeks after the letter was submitted, the CPS issued NFA. Aisha was never charged.
The lesson: pre-charge engagement is not a formality. In cases where the evidential picture is genuinely mixed, a well-constructed submission made at the right moment can and does change outcomes.
Scenario 3: The Second Interview Escalation
James had a voluntary interview about a minor matter and thought nothing more of it. Six months later, the police called asking him to come in again “to clarify a few things.” He attended without telling anyone, without legal advice, without reviewing what he’d said in the first interview.
The second interview focused on inconsistencies between his earlier answers and new evidence the police had gathered. Some of what he said in the second interview compounded the problem rather than resolving it. He was charged shortly after.
The lesson: a request for a second interview after a voluntary interview is almost always a signal that something has changed in the investigation. Never attend without first speaking to a solicitor and reviewing your earlier account.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens after a voluntary police interview in the UK?
After a voluntary police interview, the investigating officer reviews the interview alongside all other evidence gathered and continues building the case file. The four possible outcomes are: no further action (NFA), a formal charge, referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision, or Released Under Investigation (RUI). There is no fixed timeframe for any of these outcomes. Minor cases may resolve in weeks; complex cases involving fraud, sexual offences, or serious violence routinely take 12 to 36 months.
Does a voluntary police interview show up on a DBS check?
The interview itself does not appear on a standard or enhanced DBS check. However, if the investigation leads to a charge, a conviction, a formal police caution, or in some circumstances even a discontinued prosecution, there may be implications — particularly on enhanced DBS checks for roles working with children or vulnerable adults. The rules around what forces can disclose on enhanced DBS checks are nuanced. If your work involves regular DBS checking, get specific advice from a solicitor.
What does “no further action” mean after a voluntary police interview?
No Further Action (NFA) means the police or CPS have decided there is insufficient evidence to charge you, or that prosecution is not in the public interest. You will not be convicted, formally cautioned, or charged as a result of that investigation. NFA is not always permanent — if substantial new evidence emerges, the file can theoretically be reopened — but in practice, for most cases, NFA means the matter is closed.
How long can the police investigate me after a voluntary interview?
There is no statutory time limit. Investigations into serious or complex offences routinely run for one to three years before any charging decision is made. In extreme cases of unjustifiable and demonstrable delay, a solicitor may be able to argue that continuing the investigation amounts to an abuse of process — but the threshold is high and this argument succeeds in only a small minority of cases. For the majority of people under investigation, the practical reality is that they must wait, while remaining legally represented and having updates sought at regular intervals.
Can I be charged without being interviewed again?
Yes. If the evidence gathered — including your voluntary interview — is sufficient to meet the CPS charging threshold, you can be charged without any further questioning. This might come as a postal requisition requiring your attendance at a magistrates’ court, a call asking you to attend the police station, or in some cases an unexpected visit. It can arrive with very little advance notice.
What if I said something incriminating in my voluntary interview?
Instruct a criminal defence solicitor immediately — not after you’ve deliberated, not once you know more, but now. Depending on what was said and how the interview was conducted, there may be grounds to argue the material should be excluded from evidence: PACE breaches, failure to advise you properly of your right to free legal advice, oppressive questioning, or unreliable answers produced by leading questions. Even where the interview cannot be challenged as a whole, a solicitor who knows exactly what was said can build an effective defence strategy around it. What you must not do is hope it doesn’t come up.
Is a voluntary police interview under caution the same as a police caution?
No — and this confusion is extremely common. A voluntary interview under caution means the standard police caution was read to you at the start of your questioning. A formal police caution — also known as a simple caution or conditional caution — is an entirely different legal instrument. It is a formal criminal justice disposal that requires you to admit the offence, is recorded on the Police National Computer, and can appear on enhanced DBS checks. Being interviewed is not the same as being cautioned.
Do I have to attend if the police invite me to a voluntary interview?
No. You are not under arrest and cannot be legally compelled to attend a voluntary interview. However, declining doesn’t end the investigation. In many cases, refusing to attend voluntarily prompts the police to arrest you instead — at which point their powers are considerably wider and the dynamics of the interview change significantly. Whether to attend, and on what conditions and terms, is a decision that should be made with legal advice before you respond to the police.
Final Thoughts
Walking out of a voluntary police interview doesn’t mean it’s over. For most people, it marks the start of the most uncertain and poorly understood phase of a criminal investigation — the period when decisions are being made, the case is developing, and you have almost no visibility into any of it.
The mistake most people make is treating this as a passive waiting game. It doesn’t have to be. The period between your voluntary interview and whatever decision follows is not empty time. Pre-charge engagement may be available. Evidence may need to be preserved. Legal rights may need to be exercised. The case can be influenced — but only if you have the right advice, and only while the window to act is still open.
If you take one thing from this guide, make it this: getting a solicitor involved now, before a charge is made, is one of the few decisions in this process that is entirely within your control. Use it.
