Arrested for Extortion
Advice
According to Section 21 of the Theft Act 1968, extortion is when an individual(s) makes ‘unwarranted menacing demands’ either explicitly or implicitly with the hope of financial gain (or a financial loss to someone else). Cases such as sexual or non-monetary advantages are handled under a different law. It is important to note that currently in English law, extortion and blackmail are treated as the same offence. On this basis, extortion will be used to refer to both scenarios.
What is defined as ‘unwarranted menacing demands?
These are when an individual(s) makes demands in a way that will cause an ordinary person to unwillingly succumb to them. Nevertheless, for individuals who are timid and therefore susceptible to meeting the demand, the demander will automatically be treated as acting menacingly if they were aware of such a fact. Furthermore, it ought to be shown that when the demand was made, the demander had no genuine reasonable grounds to believe that the demand should be made the way it was, and the menacing way of making the demands was improper in the circumstances. The above point should be treated with caution as it does not act as a license to effectively ‘extort’ an individual.
Characteristics of extortion
- Once the demand is made, extortion has already been committed.
- Gain is interpreted as both keeping what one has as well as acquiring what an individual does not have.
- Loss on the other hand both implies not getting what one wants and parting with what one has.
What should you do if threatened with extortion?
As always, try to stay calm, and do not panic. Rather than trying to solve it yourself, which may lead to you committing an offence, it is advisable to call the police and report the matter.
How to deal with the police if arrested for extortion?
In such situations, you have a right to inform someone of your arrest. More importantly, you have a right to access free independent legal services when you request them. If this is ever in doubt, inform the police officer that you are allowed help under Section 58(1) of the Police and Crime Evidence Act 1984. Moreover, if you are eventually interviewed in the absence of legal services, you should remember that you neither have to answer the question posed to you nor can you be compelled to do so. You can simply choose to stay silent.
It is worth noting that once you request legal representation, you cannot be interviewed until you have access to suitable representation. Also, if you are already being interviewed after indicating that you did not require legal advice, once you request for it, even during the interview, the police will have to postpone the interview until you have been given the advice.
Whilst in custody you have certain rights:
- To get legal advice;
- To tell someone where you are;
- To get medical help, and to see a copy of the rules the Police must follow (Codes of Practice).
After being arrested we would strongly advise you to simply confirm your details and not rise to any of their quips or questions which are designed to solicit an admission of guilt, hence making their quest for a conviction a lot easier, instead simply state that you will not answer any questions until you have received legal guidance. Remember, simply saying “sorry” is classed as an admission of guilt, if you give an investigating officer the slightest chance, they will exploit it to the maximum.
How we can help
If you cannot afford legal representation, you will be offered free and independent legal advice, however, you should not assume that the duty solicitor appointed for you will keep your details private, after all, they have the same paymaster and the solicitor will be extremely familiar (and thereby friendly) with the police officers and not want to cause them any inconvenience. In our opinion, this creates a dangerous situation as regards legal confidentiality. Our representatives are truly independent and would not disclose any part of your conversation with them to the police. If you are seeking alternative legal help, we strongly suggest you use a private solicitor and do not rely on the duty solicitor for reasons already stated.
We would never suggest that you discuss anything other than confirming your name and address with the police. If they can twist your words to get a conviction, whether it was accurate or not, the resultant conviction and potential court case could be devastating to you and your family. Instead, simply ask for legal representation, they cannot continue to ask you questions until your representative is present.
Assuming that you have been charged with such an offence then you would need to initiate a case without delay, upon starting your case your caseworker will create a briefing note for your legal team to examine the charge. To gain our assistance you need to open a case, this is done by taking advantage of our free consultation service, activated by the link at the top of the page, should you wish to start a case the caseworker will send you the suitable payment link.
Please note your caseworker can only give generic advice, their role is to prepare your details for handling by our legal team and to act as your point of contact, they will also issue you with your Password and PIN, these will be needed to log onto your client dashboard. From your dashboard you will be able to manage and view every aspect of your case, upload documents, images, files etc.