If Someonehas to Wait for Trial Will I Get to Touch Them Again

Once the police believe they have enough evidence they will pass the example to the CPS and enquire us to review the evidence and consider whether we can bring a prosecution.

If the constabulary don't think they take enough evidence they won't pass the case to united states of america and the doubtable won't exist charged with rape or serious sexual attack.

If that happens your police contact will explicate why, what back up is available to help you and whether there are whatsoever other steps they can take against the suspect.  If the police force decide not to send your example to the states, y'all tin ask the police force to review that decision – this is chosen a Victim's Right to Review. Your police contact tin can let y'all know how to do this.

This department explains what happens when the law send the example to us including how nosotros make our decision on what to practise in each case, what will happen next if we decide to accuse a suspect and what your rights are if we decide non to charge them.

Reviewing the evidence Toggle accordion

The file that the police transport to u.s. will contain a range of testify. This includes things similar:

• A recording of your interview(south) with the police
• Your victim personal statement – if you lot've provided ane
• Statements from whatever other witnesses or video recordings of interviews with them
• Whatsoever business relationship the suspect provided during their police interview
• CCTV bear witness
• Medical evidence
• Digital evidence gathered from smartphones, tablets or computer downloads

When nosotros review the evidence in cases of rape or serious sexual assault we focus on the behaviour and actions of the doubtable. This is sometimes called the 'suspect-centric' or 'offender-centric' arroyo.

The police file will also contain a list of all the material they've gathered as part of their investigation that doesn't class office of their testify against the suspect. The police will tell the CPS prosecutor if any of this material could undermine the case or help the defense force example if the case went to trial.

Video: Senior Crown Prosecutor Nikki explains how the CPS reviews cases at different stages

What offences could the suspect be charged with? Toggle accordion

This section includes a detailed breakdown on offences that a suspect tin can exist charged with. Some people may discover this triggering. Support services for victims are listed in the 'What support is bachelor to help you' section.

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There are three main criminal offences which cover the crimes of rape and serious sexual assault. These are set out in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which came into upshot on 1 May 2004.

The legal definitions of these offences are:

1. Rape. This is penetration with a penis of the vagina, anus or mouth of another person without their consent and without reasonably assertive that they consented.
2. Sexual Assail past Penetration. This is penetration of another person's vagina or anus with whatever part of the body other than the penis, or with whatever object, without their consent and without reasonably believing that they consented.
3. Sexual Assault. This is the intentional sexual touching of another person without their consent and without reasonably believing that they consented.

These offences mean that a person is committing an offence by engaging in any form of sex activity without your consent or without reasonably believing that y'all consented. Nosotros've explained what the law says about consent in a flake more detail below.

How does the constabulary define consent? Toggle accordion

The law says that a person only consents to sexual activity if they concord past choice and have both:

• The freedom to make that choice

and

• The capacity to brand a option about whether or not to have role in the sexual activity at the fourth dimension in question.

This ways that y'all can't consent to sex if you are pressured or forced into it in any way. Information technology likewise ways that you can't consent if the circumstances hateful that you don't have the capacity to consent at the time. For instance, someone may not take the capacity to consent if they have drunk a lot of alcohol or taken drugs.

As part of the instance, we also need to show that the accused didn't have a 'reasonable belief' that you consented to the sexual activity. A 'reasonable' conventionalities means that a reasonable person would take believed that yous were consenting in the circumstances. In other words, it doesn't matter if the suspect says that they believed you were consenting if we can prove that a reasonable person would not accept believed that in the circumstances.

You don't accept to have said that you didn't consent for usa to make the case that a reasonable person would not accept believed that you were consenting.

In some situations, the police force allows us to presume that a person did not consent to sexual activity and the defendant did non 'reasonably believe' that they consented, unless the defendant can show otherwise. This includes situations where the victim was unconscious, drugged, abducted or had been threatened with violence.

Video: What is consent?

Video: Withdrawing consent

Video: Consent - what is reasonable conventionalities?

Video: Myths well-nigh consent: ane

Video: Myths about consent: 2

Non-recent sexual offences Toggle piano accordion

In that location's no time limit on how long later the offence you can report the criminal offense. The primal difference is that if the offence took identify before one May 2004 then nosotros need to employ dissimilar legislation to prosecute it – this may mean that the offences that nosotros can charge someone with are unlike.

The Sexual Offences Human activity 1956 is the main piece of legislation covering sexual offences that took place before 1 May 2004. One key difference is that this legislation didn't state that the defendant had to have a 'reasonable' belief that you were consenting. This means that for these cases there is a defence if the defendant believed you were consenting, even if the belief was unreasonable. We'll build our example by looking at the actions of the defendant earlier, during and after the incident to try and testify that they did non believe you were consenting.

If yous take whatsoever questions nearly non-recent offences you lot tin can speak to your police force contact who tin can explain this to you lot in more detail.

Making our conclusion Toggle accordion

All rape and serious sexual offence cases are reviewed by our specialist 'rape and serious sexual offences' (RASSO) prosecutors. They are particularly trained to understand the complexities of these types of cases, including the different kinds of touch that this may have had on you as the victim.

To decide whether or non to charge the suspect in a case our prosecutors use the 2-stage examination set out in our Code for Crown Prosecutors.

The showtime stage is the 'evidential stage'. At this stage our prosecutor reviews all the testify provided by the police and asks themself the question 'Is there enough show confronting the suspect to provide a realistic prospect of conviction?' That means, having heard the evidence, is a court more than likely than not to notice the defendant guilty?

To answer this question they must consider whether the evidence they tin can utilize in court is reliable and credible and whether there is any other material that might undermine that evidence.

This test is dissimilar to the test applied at trial. When a example gets to trial the jury must be sure that a accused is guilty in order to convict them. At the CPS we don't need to be certain that someone is guilty to take the case forward – in fact we don't brand whatever judgement on whether someone is guilty or not.

If the instance doesn't pass this starting time stage we tin can't move onto the adjacent stage, no matter how serious or sensitive the case may be.

The 2nd phase is the 'public interest exam'. At this stage the CPS prosecutor again reviews all the bear witness provided past the law and asks themselves the question 'Is it in the public interest to prosecute?'.

To answer this question, they must consider things like the seriousness of the offence, the harm caused to the victim, the touch on on communities and the age and maturity of the suspect at the time of the offence.

A prosecution will go ahead unless a prosecutor decides that public interest factors against a prosecution outweigh those in favour of a prosecution.

In cases of rape or serious sexual attack, the seriousness of the offence ways that where there is enough evidence a prosecution will almost always go ahead. A conclusion non to prosecute these cases for public interest reasons is very rare and the prosecutor would need to provide clear reasons explaining their decision.

You lot can read more near our two-stage test on our folio on the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Video: How we make a determination in each case - The Code for Crown Prosecutors

How long does information technology take for us to make our decision? Toggle piano accordion

Every case is different and there is no unmarried respond to this question. Some cases may exist straightforward while others will have a lot of evidence that we demand to review or legal problems we demand to resolve.

We know how hard it tin can be while you're waiting for this decision so volition e'er practice our best to review the show quickly and efficiently so that you aren't waiting longer than is needed. If yous have any questions most the progress of your instance you can go in touch with your police contact and they'll be happy to assist.

If we decide to charge a suspect Toggle accordion

If our prosecutor decides that our two-stage test has been met, we will tell the constabulary what offence(due south) they tin charge the suspect with.

The police will then charge the suspect. At this indicate the suspect becomes known as the defendant.

In some cases, for example, if the law believe there is a risk the defendant might commit another offence or fail to nourish court, the defendant may be 'remanded in custody'. This means they volition be held by the police, normally in a police cell, until they have appeared before a judge when they may asking to be bailed.

The police force will allow you know that the defendant has been charged and whether they accept been remanded in custody. If the defendant has non been remanded in custody, the police will release them ahead of the first court hearing. If that happens the police will let you know whether there are any conditions in place that the accused must follow, for case staying abroad from you or a particular place. You lot can read more well-nigh this in our department on bail. The police force will also let you lot know when the starting time court hearing will be.

The adjacent step is the first hearing of the case which takes identify in the magistrates' court.

If we need more evidence to make a decision Toggle accordion

If our prosecutor decides that at that place is not enough evidence to charge the doubtable at this time they will so consider whether there is any more bear witness the constabulary could look for to brand the case stronger. If nosotros believe that more police investigation could help, nosotros volition ask the constabulary to continue their investigation and provide us with whatsoever more bear witness they tin can detect.

If the police find more evidence, the case can and then come dorsum to us and we will make a new conclusion on whether or not to prosecute the suspect.

The police will go along yous up to appointment with what'south happening in the case if they need to look for more prove.

If we decide not to charge – and your right to review Toggle squeeze box

If our prosecutor decides the case doesn't laissez passer our two-stage test, and in that location is no further evidence that the police could look for that would change this, they can't charge the suspect. This is also called a decision to advise 'no further activeness' (NFA).

If we decide non to prosecute the instance nosotros will explain the reasons why and you take a right to enquire u.s.a. to wait at our decision again. This is called the 'Victims' Right to Review'. If you request a review a new prosecutor will review all the evidence and apply our ii-stage test once again to come to their own determination in the case. They may determine that the legal test is met and the doubtable tin exist charged or they may hold with the decision that there should exist no further action.

Once they've completed this review, they will write to you to explain their conclusion. They will also offer to speak to you over the phone or in person to discuss the example if you lot would find that helpful.

Y'all can find out more on our Victims' Right to Review page.

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Source: https://www.cps.gov.uk/rasso-guide/how-we-make-decision-what-do-your-case-0

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