How to check if the police are investigating you

If you think the police may be investigating you, the honest starting point is this: in many cases, nobody will tell you, and you do not have a legal right to be told. In most cases, you may not be aware that the police are investigating you until you are arrested or invited to attend a voluntary interview under caution.

That said, there are a small number of routes which can help establish your situation. This page sets out each one, the signs worth taking seriously, and what not to do while you are trying to find out.

In short: there is no register you can search to check whether the police are investigating you, and the police are generally under no duty to tell you until they interview or charge you.

A right-of-access request to the force can be made, but forces can withhold information where disclosure would prejudice a live investigation, so it often returns nothing useful while the case is open. Requesting access to a basic DBS check will not show a live investigation, only recorded outcomes such as convictions and cautions. If you have been interviewed and released under investigation, you are already a suspect and should be taking immediate advice.

If you are concerned that you may be under investigation for a crime, having expert legal advice and representation on your side is absolutely essential. Speak to our criminal defence solicitors today.

Can you find out if the police are investigating you?

You are not legally entitled to find out whether the police are investigating you.

The police can investigate as they consider reasonable, and you are not entitled to know the nature or extent of an investigation before an interview or a charge. There is no central database of open investigations that a member of the public can check.

Practically, this means the absence of contact tells you very little about a potential investigation. Investigations can run for months with no contact at all, particularly where large amounts of evidence need to be processed.

How to check whether you are under investigation

Make a right-of-access request to the police force

You can ask a police force for the personal data it holds about you, under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Every force has a process, usually on its website. The significant limitation is that forces can restrict disclosure where it would prejudice an investigation or the prevention of crime, so a request made while a case is live frequently returns nothing about it. It is still worth making for a historic or dormant matter, and the response sometimes tells you something by what it withholds.

ACRO police certificates and DBS checks: what they do not show

Both are commonly suggested online, and both are misunderstood. An ACRO police certificate and a basic DBS check disclose recorded outcomes, principally convictions and cautions. Neither is designed to reveal that an investigation is under way.

An enhanced DBS check can include non-conviction information at a chief officer's discretion, which is a separate matter and relevant to employment rather than to finding out whether you are a suspect.

What not to do while trying to find out

Do not contact the complainant or anyone you think may have made a report to ask what they have said. This is the single most damaging thing people do at this stage. It can turn a case that might have ended in no further action into a second allegation of witness intimidation or perverting the course of justice. The same applies to asking friends or family to make contact on your behalf.

Do not delete messages, photographs or accounts. Deletion is recoverable, it looks like concealment, and it usually removes the context that would have helped you.

Signs that you may be under investigation

Several signs may have innocent explanations, but taken together, they could provide an indication that you may be under investigation:

• An invitation to attend a voluntary interview, or a letter or call asking you to contact an officer
• Police attending your home or workplace, or asking neighbours or colleagues about you
• Devices, a vehicle or other property seized, or a request to hand over a phone or passwords
• Being told after an interview that you are released under investigation or on bail
• A postal requisition or a charge arriving by post
• People you know being approached and asked questions about you
• Your bank, employer or a professional regulator making unexpected enquiries
• Being asked not to contact a particular person

A "silent" investigation, where none of this happens, is entirely possible. If you have a specific reason to think you are a suspect, the absence of signs should not be treated as reassurance that you are not being investigated.

Do the police have to tell you that you are under investigation?

No, not while they are investigating. There is no general duty to notify a suspect that an investigation has been opened, and none to tell you what a complaint alleges before interview.

The obligations arise at the points of contact: you must be told the offence you are suspected of before an interview under caution, and you are entitled to free legal advice at the police station whether you attend voluntarily or under arrest.

The police should tell you when the investigation concludes, including a decision to take no further action, though in practice this is slow and worth chasing.

What happens next: interview, bail or released under investigation

If you are a suspect, the case will usually reach you as either an invitation to a voluntary police interview or an arrest. What follows the interview is one of four things:

There is no statutory time limit on an investigation itself where you have not been bailed, which is why cases can run for a year or more, particularly where a phone or computer is awaiting examination. On how long investigations run in practice, and when the police stop investigating, see our guidance on police station representation and the investigation process.

Fees and funding

We can attend the police station with you under the legal aid scheme. Attendances at the police station are non-income tested. This scheme does not extend to meetings with you prior to and after the Police Station attendance at a separate meeting; however, you can pay for this service on a private basis.

If you need to attend court after a police investigation, you may be eligible for Legal Aid Whether you can access Legal Aid will depend on whether the grant of public funding is justified on a means and interest of justice basis.

Where you do not qualify for Legal Aid, the alternative will be to fund the case on a private basis.

To find out more about the way we handle fees (both Legal Aid and private fees) please use the links provided below:

• Our Fees – Crime Cases
• Do I Qualify for Criminal Legal Aid?
• Bespoke Crime Private Fee Service
• Will Your Private Legal Costs Increase?       

Frequently asked questions

Can you check if the police are investigating you?

Not through any public search as there is no register of open investigations. You are not obligated to find out whether you are subject to an ongoing police investigation

Do the police have to tell you if you are under investigation?

No. There is no duty to notify you that an investigation has been opened. You must be told what offence you are suspected of before an interview under caution, and told when the investigation concludes.

Can you be under investigation without knowing?

Yes, and it is common. Investigations frequently run for months with no contact, particularly where devices are being examined or evidence is being gathered before an interview.

Will an investigation show on a DBS check?

A basic DBS check shows unspent convictions and cautions, not live investigations. An enhanced check can include non-conviction information at a chief officer's discretion, depending on the role.

If a police report is filed against me, will I be notified?

Not necessarily, and not immediately. A report does not itself trigger any obligation to tell you. You may hear nothing until the police decide whether to interview you, and some reports lead to no contact at all.

I have been released under investigation. Am I still being investigated?

Yes. It means you remain a suspect with no conditions and no fixed end date. It is not the same as no further action, and it is a point at which advice matters.

Contact our criminal defence lawyers today

If you have been invited to an interview, or you have a concrete reason to think you are a suspect, the interview is where the case is usually decided. We have a solicitor on call 24 hours a day for police station attendance, on legal aid and privately.

Contact us today:

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Written by Sanjay Cholera Partner Crime Advocacy at J D Spicer Zeb. J D Spicer Zeb is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, SRA no. 55671. This article explains the law and practice of England and Wales and is general information, not advice on your case.

Last reviewed: 11^th August 2026