Part of: Process maps for legal justice
Police investigation
Use this process map to help you understand what will happen during a police investigation.
Police will collect and preserve evidence
Time: Weeks to years
There are different ways police can collect evidence. This includes the following:
Evidence from the scene of the assault, including photographs, fingerprints and any evidence that may be relevant such as CCTV footage or a computer.
Statements from witnesses to the incident or to events before and afterwards.
Your phone or digital devices:
The police will send the evidence for forensic examination or analysis and also include your forensic medical examination report. All of the evidence will be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Officer in Charge and detail the circumstances surrounding the incident. Any clothes or items that are seized for the investigation will be returned to you.
Video interview:
If you have experienced sexual violence your statement will usually be recorded on video. This is to enable it to be shown to a court if there is a trial. If your statement is not video recorded then your account will be recorded by a police officer and written up into a statement. When this has been done you will be given the opportunity to read it through to check everything is correct before you sign it.
Disclosure:
The police can look through your photos, messages and social media. They may also access social services or medical records. This is called ‘disclosure material.’ The police and CPS can decide what evidence would be ‘relevant’ for each case and you don’t have any agency over that, which can be rightly frustrating. It’s hard to determine what they deem relevant. Evidence can be used for and against you. Remember that the police and the CPS have a duty to disclose anything that undermines the prosecution case or helps the defence case - irrespective of whether they believe you or not.
The police can keep your digital devices especially your phone for up to 7 years. This is both inconvenient but can also cost you money if you have a contract phone. It may also cause some concerns for safety. There’s been some campaigns to change this rule. We believe these “digital strip searches” are huge invasions of privacy, unnecessary in most instances and against your fundamental rights as a victim.
Sources:
Rape Crisis UK
Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre
Date checked: 23.01.2020
You may be called back for further interviews
Over the course of their investigation, you may be called back by the police to review your initial statement. The police may ask you additional questions as new evidence or information emerges, or smaller questions that they have.
You may also request another meeting for another interview yourself.
These interviews can be written or video recorded - the decision is yours. Use the Timeline feature in YSM to keep your own records that you can refer back to whenever you want.
Identifying a suspect as your abuser
Many survivors are unable to recognise their abuser(s) directly after an assault if they were unknown or you were drugged or it was a long time ago. However the police have several methods to try and identify suspects.
If the abuser(s) is a stranger the police may ask for your help by looking through photographs of known sex offenders to see if you recognise your abuser(s).
Unfortunately, if the police are unable to find your abuser(s), the case may be closed and classified as NFA (No Further Action) but your report will remain on their system in case further evidence emerges.
Source:
Rape Crisis UK
Date checked: 10.11.2019
Having your abuser(s) arrested before they are charged
If police can identify and locate the abuser(s), they should arrest them if they feel it is in the wider public interest and based on your wishes. However since changes in the legal system and the removal of pre-charge bail in 2017 the police now very rarely arrest abuser(s) during investigations or ahead of charging. Survivors are often under the impression that bail restrictions will be automatically placed on their abuser(s) however this is sadly not the case.
If the police don’t arrest your abuser(s) or place them under any bail conditions but you believe they should - you can challenge this decision. One way of pushing for an arrest is to record all the reasons and times the abuser(s) have attempted to contact you.
Bail conditions, whilst not the same as an arrest, restrict the ability of your abuser(s) contacting you, for example if you feel continually harrassed and bail has been placed then you just need to speak to your dedicated officer rather than filing a whole new report.
The police should inform you within 24 hours of your abuser(s)’s arrest so that you are aware of how your case is progressing.
If you feel heavily in danger there are a few additional measures you can request from the police. The first is having your home address flagged within the police system, so that if you place a 999 call from that address your call will automatically go to the top of the system and specially trained officers will be sent out quicker.
In extreme circumstances you can request a tecSOS phone, which allows you to press a button and it sends a GPS signal to the police for them to come to your location asap.
Source:
Date checked: 10.11.2019
The police will interview your abuser(s)
The police can interview your abuser(s) or any suspects without them being arrested as a “Caution + 3” or Voluntary Police Interview.
The interview will be recorded and anything the abuser(s) say can later be used at court.
Prior to the interview the abuser(s) will be reminded that they are entitled to free legal advice and a legal representative present during the interview.
Your abuser(s) will be told by the police that it may disadvantage to them at trial if they do not give an account during the interview, but almost all abuser(s) will have a lawyer present who will often advise their client to answer “no comment”. The abuser(s) may also choose to exit the interview at any time. All this can feel incredibly frustrating for survivors who just want their abuser(s) to admit what happened or give answers.
Source:
Date checked: 10.11.2019
Interviews with third parties are conducted to find witnesses and evidence
The police may need to speak with third parties as part of their investigation and evidence. This may take place as follows:
Conducting door-to-door enquiries in the area.
Contacting any witnesses to the incident or to events before and afterwards and ask them to make a statement.
Source:
Rape Crisis UK
Date checked: 10.11.2019
The police investigation ends
Time: Generally around 2-3 years
After gathering as much evidence as possible and conducting all interviews, the police will review their investigation and come to a decision on whether the case should be passed to the CPS who decide whether a case will be taken to trial and prosecuted.
You can speak with your STO or dedicated officer if you believe that the investigation was not thorough. If the STO does not resolve the matter, Rights of Women and other organisations can help you make a complaint or give you legal advice on your options.
Source
Date checked: 23.01.2020
Your rights under "Right to Review"
If the police decide not to charge the suspect then the Victim's Right to Review does not apply.
You can write to the police and ask them to review this decision and/or pass your case on to the CPS. If they will not do this you can ask them for reasons why.
If you do not receive a satisfactory response to your letter you can complain about this via the Independent Police Complaints Commission. More information can be found on their website here: www.ipcc.gov.uk/page/about-us.
Source:
Rape Crisis UK
Date Checked: 10.11.2019
You can decide at any time to leave the process.
Remember that you can leave at anytime during this process.