With Kind Permission From Billy Bragg
We offer
Expert Criminal Defence Solicitors Supporting York Clients
Being contacted by the police can leave you unsure about what to say, what your rights are and what could happen next. You may have been arrested, asked to attend a voluntary interview or told that an investigation is under way. Getting legal advice before answering questions can help you understand the allegation and protect your position from the earliest stage.
At Chivers Solicitors, we provide criminal defence advice and representation for clients across York and North Yorkshire. Our team handles cases from the police station through to Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court proceedings, including serious and complex allegations.
We also understand that family members are sometimes the first people looking for urgent legal help after an arrest. You can contact our team if you are trying to arrange representation for somebody else or need to find out what steps should be taken.
Although we do not have an office in York, clients in the area can access our Criminal Defence team through our existing offices, including our Bingley head office, alongside our wider criminal defence service.
If you need criminal defence solicitors who can advise on a York or North Yorkshire matter, contact us as soon as possible.
We offer
Urgent Criminal Defence Advice In York
Criminal investigations can begin in different ways. Some people first become aware of an allegation when police arrive at their home. Others receive a phone call asking them to attend an interview or find out that officers want to speak to them about an incident.
The fact that you have not been arrested does not mean that the matter is informal. A voluntary interview is still an interview under caution and what you say can be recorded and used as evidence.
Chivers Solicitors supports York clients from the first stage of an investigation onwards. We can advise before an interview, attend the police station with you and continue representing you if the case later proceeds to court.
Getting advice early gives your solicitor an opportunity to understand what the police are investigating and advise you before you decide how to respond.
Combined years of post-qualified legal experience in Criminal Law
Our Criminal Law Services In York
Criminal allegations vary widely in seriousness and complexity. Some cases involve a single incident and can be dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court, while others involve lengthy investigations, substantial evidence and proceedings before the Crown Court.
Our Criminal Defence team handles a broad range of offences and can advise from the investigation stage through to trial, sentence and appeal where required.
Serious and Violent Crime
Allegations involving serious violence can carry significant consequences and often require urgent legal advice.
Chivers represents clients accused of offences including murder, manslaughter, grievous bodily harm, violent disorder, threats to kill, affray and assault on emergency workers.
Cases may involve CCTV footage, witness accounts, forensic evidence, medical evidence or data taken from mobile phones and other devices. The prosecution may also rely on evidence gathered over an extended investigation.
Our role is to examine the allegation, understand the prosecution case as it develops and advise you clearly about your position. Where a matter proceeds to the Crown Court, we can continue representing you and preparing the defence throughout the case.
Drug Offences and Conspiracies
Drug investigations can range from allegations of possession to serious cases involving supply, production or conspiracy.
Where several people are accused of being involved, the prosecution may rely on messages, phone records, surveillance, financial evidence or other material to try to establish connections between individuals.
Our team advises on possession and supply offences, possession with intent to supply, production offences and conspiracy allegations. We also deal with complex investigations involving digital evidence and communications data.
If you need a drug offence solicitor, we can advise on the evidence and legal issues involved. Our conspiracy solicitors can also assist where the prosecution alleges that two or more people agreed to commit a criminal offence.
Seeking advice early can be particularly important in multi-handed cases, where the evidence relating to one person may be closely connected with allegations made against several others.
Sexual Offences
An allegation of a sexual offence can have an immediate impact on someone’s personal life, employment and relationships, even before any decision is made about whether charges will follow.
Our sexual offence solicitors provide confidential, non-judgemental representation for people facing allegations including rape, sexual assault, historical sexual offences, offences involving indecent images and other sexual allegations.
We can advise before a police interview, during an ongoing investigation and throughout court proceedings if charges are brought.
These cases often involve sensitive evidence and may include witness accounts, digital material, medical evidence or allegations relating to events said to have happened many years earlier.
Our team will explain the investigation and court process clearly while making sure you understand the decisions being made at each stage.
Firearms, Weapons, Fraud & Other Offences
Chivers also represents clients accused of firearms and weapons offences, fraud, money laundering and other serious or complex criminal allegations.
Financial investigations can involve large volumes of documents, bank records, business material and electronic evidence. Firearms and weapons cases may involve forensic evidence, searches, statements and disputes about possession or knowledge.
Our wider criminal defence work also includes offences such as robbery, theft, criminal damage, harassment, stalking, controlling or coercive behaviour, blackmail, arson and perverting the course of justice.
The appropriate defence will depend on the allegation and evidence. Contacting a solicitor early allows the case to be considered before important decisions are made during the investigation.
EncroChat Solicitors
EncroChat investigations can involve large amounts of digital evidence and allegations linked to serious organised crime, drug supply, conspiracy or firearms offences. These cases can be complex, particularly where prosecutors rely on messages, usernames, device attribution and wider communication data to connect an individual to alleged criminal activity.
Chivers Solicitors has experience advising on EncroChat-related criminal cases and can assist from the investigation stage through to Crown Court proceedings. Our enrochat solicitors can review the evidence relied upon by the prosecution, consider issues around attribution and context and advise on how the material may affect the case against you.
If you have been arrested, contacted by the police or charged in connection with an EncroChat investigation, getting specialist advice early can be important. We can also advise where EncroChat evidence forms part of a wider conspiracy, drug offence or firearms case.
24/7 Police Station Representation In York
Everyone interviewed by the police under caution is entitled to free and independent legal advice at the police station.
Chivers Solicitors provides a 24/7 police station call out service for people who have been arrested or are being interviewed in connection with a criminal investigation.
If you are in police custody, you can ask the custody officer to contact Chivers Solicitors. You do not have to use the duty solicitor simply because you have been arrested.
Police station legal advice is free. This applies whether you have been arrested and detained or have agreed to attend a voluntary interview under caution.
Before an interview, your solicitor can seek information from the police about the nature of the allegation and any disclosure they are prepared to provide. We can then advise you privately before questioning begins.
During the interview, your solicitor is there to protect your legal rights and intervene where necessary.
Where appropriate, we can also advise about what happens after the interview, including release under investigation, bail or a decision to charge.
If the police want to question you about an allegation, ask for legal advice before the interview starts.
What To Do If You Are Contacted By The Police
Police contact should be taken seriously, even where officers tell you that attending an interview is voluntary.
If the police call you or ask to arrange an interview, find out why they want to speak to you and avoid discussing the allegation in detail before you have received legal advice.
You should also keep any letters, bail paperwork, interview notices or other documents you have been given. These can help your solicitor understand what stage the investigation has reached.
A voluntary interview does not mean that the allegation is less serious. You are not under arrest and can normally leave unless you are arrested, but the interview is conducted under caution and your answers can be used as evidence.
Our team can speak to the police before the interview, advise you privately and attend with you.
If a family member has been arrested, you can also contact Chivers and tell us where they are being held. We may be able to help arrange representation and explain what information is needed.
Why Choose Chivers Solicitors?
The decisions made during the first stages of a criminal investigation can affect how the case develops. Having a solicitor involved early means you can receive advice before answering questions or making decisions about your case.
Clients in York and North Yorkshire can contact Chivers because:
- Criminal defence is an established part of our legal work
- We provide 24/7 police station representation
- Advice and representation at the police station is free
- Our team handles serious and complex criminal allegations
- We represent clients in Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court proceedings
- Advice is clear and focused on the evidence and legal issues involved
- Legal Aid may be available for eligible court cases
- Family members can contact us where somebody has been arrested
- York clients can access our team without Chivers having a physical office in the city
If your circumstances later involve a separate issue after sentence, our prison law solicitors in York can advise within that service. Where an investigation or criminal case creates a separate family law problem, our family law solicitors in York may also be able to help.
Speak To a Criminal Defence Solicitor
If you have been arrested, contacted by the police or asked to attend a voluntary interview, getting advice before answering questions can help you understand your rights and the allegation being investigated.
You can also contact us if you have already been charged and need representation for a Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court case.
For urgent criminal defence advice, call us on 01274 561 666, email us at solicitors@chiverssolicitors.co.uk or fill in our online contact form to get legal advice now.
If the matter concerns somebody else who has been arrested, a family member can make the initial enquiry and explain the situation.
Criminal Defence Support Across York & North Yorkshire
Chivers Solicitors supports clients throughout York and the wider North Yorkshire area. We do not have a physical office in York, with enquiries from the city handled through our established offices and wider Criminal Defence team.
We can advise people from central York and areas covered by postcode districts including YO1, YO10, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 and YO32. Our York-facing service also covers people seeking advice from surrounding areas including Acomb, Clifton, Heworth, Fulford, Haxby and Huntington, as well as Selby, Tadcaster, Malton and Easingwold.
Clients may need representation at different courts depending on the allegation and how the case progresses. This can include cases dealt with at York Magistrates’ Court and proceedings before York Crown Court.
If your case is already listed for a hearing, tell us the court, hearing date and the offence involved when you contact us.
York criminal defence enquiries can be handled through our Bingley head office:
Chivers Solicitors
Arden House
7/8 Wellington Street
Bingley
West Yorkshire
BD16 2NB
Call 01274 561 666 or email solicitors@chiverssolicitors.co.uk.
You can contact us from York even where the police investigation or court proceedings are taking place elsewhere.
We offer
- Motoring offence, summary only - Trial & Guilty Plea
- Guilty Plea Agreed Fee: £500 + VAT (20% = £100)
- Trial Fees from: £1000 + VAT (at the current rate of 20% = £200)
What is included?
- Attendance and/or preparation
- Considering evidence
- Taking your instructions
- Providing advice on likely sentence
- Attendance and representation at a single hearing at the Magistrates Court
What is not included?
- Instruction of any expert witnesses
- Taking statements from any witnesses
- Advice and assistance in relation to a Special Reasons [i] [ii] hearing
- Advice or assistance in relation to any appeal
Understanding Summary Only Offences and Special Reasons in Traffic Violations
- [i]A summary only offence is an offence which can only be tried in the magistrates' court. There are exceptions. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA 1988) offences specified in the Act can be tried on indictment by a jury if they are linked to an offence triable only in the Crown Court. The principal summary only offences are:
- Driving whilst disqualified
- Careless and inconsiderate driving
- Failing to give information as to the identity of the driver
- Failing to stop or report
- Speeding
- [ii] Special Reasons pertain exclusively to situations where the accused has been found or has pleaded guilty and now faces disqualification unless he/she can persuade the Court that the circumstances of the offence are such that it would be unjust to impose a ban.
How We Work
01
Initial Advice
We will meet with you to give you instructions and gather key information about what happened, regardless of your situation. Our team will consider initial disclosure and any other evidence to provide clear and realistic advice.
We’ll clearly explain the court procedure and the sentencing options available so you know what to expect on the day of your hearing. We’ll be there with you, every step of the way.
02
Case Preparation and Evidence Collection
During the next stage, we will arrange to take any witness statements, if necessary. We can advise you of the additional costs involved.
Our team will then conduct further preparatory work, obtain additional instructions from you if appropriate, and answer any follow-up queries.
Representation in Court
We provide full representation in the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, and on appeal.
On the day of your hearing, we will meet with you beforehand, represent you in court, and explain the outcome clearly afterwards.
If an appeal is appropriate, we will advise you on the next steps and any additional costs involved, too.
Want to chat at a time that suits you?
Criminal Solicitors York FAQs
Do you help clients across York and North Yorkshire?
Yes. Chivers Solicitors provides criminal defence advice to clients throughout York and North Yorkshire. We do not have a York office, but clients can access our Criminal Defence team through our existing offices and wider criminal defence service.
Can you attend for police station matters linked to York?
Yes. Chivers provides 24/7 police station representation for people who have been arrested or need to be interviewed under caution. If you are in custody, you can ask the police to contact Chivers Solicitors on your behalf.
Which office handles York criminal cases?
York criminal defence enquiries can be handled through our Bingley head office at Arden House, 7/8 Wellington Street, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 2NB. You can contact the team on 01274 561 666 or by email at solicitors@chiverssolicitors.co.uk.
Can you help with a voluntary police interview?
Yes. A voluntary interview is an interview under caution and anything you say can be used as evidence. Our solicitors can advise you before the interview, speak to the police about available disclosure and attend the interview with you.
Is police station legal advice free?
Yes. Legal advice and representation at the police station is free if you are being interviewed under caution, whether you have been arrested or are attending voluntarily. You do not need to qualify financially for this advice.
Can family members contact you urgently?
Yes. Family members can contact us if somebody has been arrested or needs urgent criminal defence advice. Tell us what has happened and, where known, where the person is being held so we can establish what assistance is required.
Can you represent me at York Crown Court or Magistrates’ Court?
Yes. Chivers represents clients in Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court criminal proceedings, including serious and complex cases. If your matter is being dealt with at York Magistrates’ Court or York Crown Court, contact us with the hearing details so we can advise on representation.
our trusted legal experts
“Chivers Solicitors are dedicated to providing honest, straightforward advice to clients in a friendly and cost effective way.”
Marcus Farrar, Principal