Woolwich Crown Court stands beside HMP Belmarsh, linked to the prison so that the most closely guarded defendants in the country can be tried without crossing a public road, and its lists carry terrorism, organised crime and murder trials alongside the ordinary serious crime of south-east London. For criminal law solicitors in Greenwich it is the local Crown Court and the one they know most closely; the magistrates' courts that take the borough's summary cases are in Bromley and Bexleyheath, so a solicitor here spends a good deal of time in the car.
The everyday caseload looks like any dense riverside borough's: drugs and knife offences involving young people in Woolwich and Thamesmead, assaults and public order around the town centres and the O2, domestic abuse allegations, driving matters on the A2 and the A206, theft from the retail parks at Charlton, and fraud and benefit cases. The university adds students in trouble for the first time, and the riverside industry the occasional health and safety or environmental prosecution.
Advice at the police station is free regardless of income, for arrests and voluntary interviews alike, and it is the single most useful thing a suspect can accept. A solicitor who knows the custody sergeants and the local prosecutors can often secure a caution or a diversion for a first offence rather than a court date.
Legal aid is available for the great majority of cases, with a means test in the magistrates' court and possible contributions in the Crown Court; the duty scheme covers the borough's police stations and many Greenwich firms hold a contract. Private clients should ask for a fixed fee for motoring matters and a staged estimate for anything else.
Criminal defence firms serving Greenwich are listed below, verified first. See what criminal law involves, the general criminal law solicitors guide and whether you can get legal help for free; criminal law solicitors in Lewisham appear in the same Crown Court.
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