Or Criminal Law advice service is dedicated to providing reliable support and guidance to individuals attempting to navigate the criminal justice system. The Criminal Law Team provide a one-off advice triage service for people facing criminal investigation/and or criminal proceedings and where necessary sign posting on to criminal law solicitors practices.
ADVICE LINE
Our free Criminal Law Advice Line can provide you with 1-2-1 advice every Friday between 10am and 2pm.
To speak to a specialist, please call 0191 230 47 77, selecting option 1 for advice lines, then option 5 for Criminal Law.*
Please be aware that our Criminal Law Service is advice only. We do not offer representation in this area.
OUR SERVICE
Have you or someone you care about been accused of a crime?
If someone has been arrested, is facing prosecution, or has been asked to voluntarily attend an interview at a police station, they should first seek advice.
The lack of access to free independent legal advice has given rise to a situation where many vulnerable people are accepting a police caution or court fines as a way of cutting short an unpleasant experience, and they are doing it without legal advice!
Unwittingly, they are accepting liability for something that can later come back to haunt them - such as when they apply for a job or access the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Our Criminal Law Team provides one-off free legal advice and signposting in the following areas as well as others:
- Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs)
- Benefit fraud
- Breach of court orders
- Criminal damage
- Dangerous dogs
- Domestic abuse
- Drugs offences
- Drunk and Disorderly
- Harassment
- Public order offences
- Road traffic offences
- Taking without consent (TWOC)
- Theft/handling stolen goods
If your case qualifies for legal aid, we will take every step to refer you to legal aid providers in the area.
ISSUES WE ARE NOT ABLE TO COVER
- We do not offer representation in court or take on cases.
- We cannot attend Police or DWP Interviews Under Caution.
SERVICE FEEDBACK
“The service is very good only because of dedication and knowledge of staff.”
“Totally pleased and grateful for the help and advice given. Could not have done this by myself.”
“…my advice was on the phone (a face to face appointment would have been too stressful for me). I am glad there are …different… options of contacting you.
Other sources of information
*Please note that our advice lines do get busy and are subject to capacity.