From Report to Court: Digital Guide

Your statement can be taken in writing by a police officer or can be made as a video interview.

The officer who interviews you should be your Specially Trained Officer (STO). You can ask to be interviewed by a police officer of the same gender as you if that makes you feel more comfortable. You can also ask to have someone with you to offer you support. The supporter must not be linked to the case and will not be able to answer questions for you.

The interview should be carried out at a pace that works for you, and you can take breaks to rest and get refreshments when you need to. The interview will last as long as is necessary to get all of the relevant information.

Making a video statement

If you have experienced sexual violence your statement will usually be recorded on video rather than written down. Giving a video statement involves you going to a special video suite, where you will sit with a police officer and give your statement. The police officer will usually ask you questions about what has happened to help you explain what happened. The discussion will be recorded by a police officer in a separate room. This video can later be shown to a court if there is a trial, which should limit the amount of time you will have to spend giving evidence in court and can make the experience easier for you. If English is not your first language or you have a disability that affects your ability to communicate the police will arrange an interpreter for you.

Making a written statement

If your statement is not video recorded, then your account will be noted down or 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. It is important that the statement accurately describes what happened in your words.

The interview will take place in private and in the language of your choice. If English is not your first language or you have a disability that affects your ability to communicate the police will arrange an interpreter for you.

The Victims Code

Under the Victims Code, if you are being interviewed by the police you are entitled to:

• be accompanied by a person of your choice, unless the police can provide you with good reasons to refuse that person
• have any interviews with you conducted without unjustified delay
• have the number of interviews limited to those that are strictly necessary for the purposes of the investigation
• have the interview, where necessary, conducted in premises designed or adapted for that purpose
• have the same person, where possible, conduct all the interviews (unless to do so would prejudice the proper handling of the investigation)
• be offered the opportunity to have a person of the same sex conduct the interview where you are a victim of sexual violence, gender-based violence, or domestic violence (any request will be met where possible unless to do so would prejudice the proper handling of the investigation)
• be offered additional support, for example, the assistance of an interpreter, and that any interview is carried out by or through professionals trained for that purpose.

The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime can be viewed here.

What will I be asked?

At the beginning of your interview, you will be asked for your personal details, such as where you live, your age, whether you work and what your job is. You will then be given the opportunity to describe what happened to you. You may be asked where the assault took place, when and how it happened. You will also be asked about the suspect.

Questions about previous relationships or sexual history

The police have no right to ask you questions about previous relationships (with people other than the offender), your sex life or whether you have been raped or assaulted in the past unless you raise these issues first. Questions like these, which relate to your previous sexual history, are not relevant to the investigation and any answers that you give to such questions are unlikely to be allowed to be used as evidence in a trial. However, it may be necessary to ask when you last had consensual sex or about your relationship with the suspect, if you have one. These questions may be necessary to interpret any DNA results or other forensic evidence.

Questions about alcohol or drugs

If you consumed alcohol or drugs before the incident you will be asked about this. The purpose of these questions is to find out whether you had the capacity to consent to sexual activity and whether you are able to be sure about what happened. The fact that you drank alcohol or used drugs should not affect the police’s response to you.

When making your statement it is important to give as accurate an account as you can. This is because your statement will form part of the prosecution’s case if the matter goes to court. If something that you said is later found to be untrue or you have missed something from your evidence, it may negatively affect the case and affect whether the jury think you are truthful.

What if I remember something after the interview?

You may find that you remember things after your interview that you did not remember at the time, or that you want to clarify something that you did say. If this is the case, write it down and contact your STO. If necessary, you can make an additional statement to cover the new information and explain why you did not say this in the first statement. Keep a copy of the notes for your own records.

Will I get a copy of my statement?

You will not be given a copy of your signed written witness statement after you have completed it. You usually won’t see it again until the start of the trial, if the case reaches court.

However, victims often have good reasons to want to see their statement shortly before the trial, such as needing the time to emotionally and mentally prepare to give evidence of traumatic events so that they can give a clear, honest and accurate account.

You can request to see the statement (written or video) from the prosecutor before the trial; this request may not be granted but in certain exceptional circumstances it may either be released to you or you may be shown a copy. However, it is a good idea to discuss and understand the benefits and risks of this beforehand with the Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor or an appropriate member of your support team.

Victim Personal Statement

Once you have made your statement about the incident, you are entitled to make a Victim Personal Statement. This may be done either straight after making your formal statement, or at any time before the defendant has been sentenced. Making a Victim Personal Statement is optional.

A Victim Personal Statement (VPS) gives you the opportunity to tell the court how the crime has made you feel and what the impact has been on you of the offence. This includes the physical, psychological, emotional and financial impact.

The VPS may also explore your views about giving evidence in court and what can be done to help support you to do this. You can say as much or as little as you wish and in your own way.

How is a VPS used in a case?

The court may ask for the whole of a VPS to be read out or only some parts of it, and the sentencing magistrates or judge should also have read a paper version of the statement.

The police are responsible for taking the statement from you and should act on anything within it, for example in relation to any fears you have about your safety. The Crown Prosecution Service has a duty to pass this statement on to the court. They will also tell the court whether you wish your statement to be read to the court and (if so) whether you want to read this statement yourself or have it read for you by the prosecutor. Ultimately the court will decide whether and what sections of the VPS will be read, and by whom. Even if the statement is not read aloud, the court will still take it into account when passing sentence.

The defence will also be given a copy and it is possible you may be asked questions about this at trial.

A VPS might also be considered by the Parole Board when they are assessing whether it is safe to release an offender from prison or move them to an open prison. In this situation you can update the statement to tell the Parole Board how the offence has continued to affect you.

Can I change my mind or update my VPS?

Once you make a VPS it cannot be changed or withdrawn. You can make a further VPS to add to or clarify your previous VPS.

Details about your entitlement to make a statement and the use of your statement in criminal proceedings can be found in the Victims’ Code.

Survivors of sexual violence are increasingly likely to be asked to hand over their mobile phone to the police as part of the investigation process. It is really important to remember that you do not have to do this. There are lots of reasons why you might not want the police to look through your phone – including simply wanting to protect your privacy.

What happens if I refuse?

The police will ask questions about why you do not want to hand over your phone. They may try and apply pressure and suggest that the case will not progress unless you provide your phone. If you are eligible for the Victim’s Right to Review scheme (see [link to VRR page in ‘the person I reported has not been charged, what can be done?’ pathway]) then you can use this process to challenge any  decision not to prosecute your abuser, or you can put in a complaint.

If you do not hand over you mobile phone, you will probably still be asked not to delete anything on the phone.

In some circumstances, a witness summons may be issued. This is a document, sent out by the court, that can require you to give evidence at court or provide your device.

What should happen if I do hand over my mobile phone?

If you are asked to hand over your mobile device, you should be provided with two important documents. One is called a standardised digital processing authorisation form (referred to as DPNa). The DNPa form should outline in detail what they are going to do with your phone – the police officer should fill in the details about what they are looking for and how the opposed to find it. The other document you should be given is a Witness Information Sheet (referred to us DPNb).

You can find copies of the forms here.

If possible, any data needed should be gathered without taking away your mobile phone, and you have the right to know that the police have considered other ways to access the data they need (i.e. taking it from the suspect’s phone or asking you for screenshots ).

What will the police look at on my phone?

The police do not have a general right to examine your mobile phone simply because you have made a report to the police. They must only look to take data from your phone where they have reasonable grounds to believe it will reveal specific material relevant to the investigation or a likely issue at trial.

Where a mobile phone is provided as part of an investigation, the police should not examine everything on your phone. Their line of enquiry must be targeted and clearly explained to you, using form DPNa mentioned above.

The search terms they use to find information from your phone must not be unreasonably broad and the volume of material that will be downloaded should be limited. Strict limits should be set by, for example, limiting searches to data generated during specific periods of time, or avoiding intrusion into areas of the phone containing irrelevant data.

If it is not possible to limit data collection in this way (i.e. because the technology doesn’t allow for it), then the police retain the ability to download or copy the entire contents of the phone, and the investigator will take the device away to do this.

What might data from my phone be used for?

Prior to any decision to charge in a case, any day taken from your mobile phone may be talked about to in the presence of the suspect, or shown to them, to allow them to respond to this evidence. This will usually take place in a recorded suspect interview.

If a decision is made to charge the suspect, at which point he becomes the defendant in the case, the material recovered from a mobile phone will fall into one of three categories:

1. Evidence

This is the material that the prosecution will use in Court when they try to prove the offence.  The defendant will see this material. You should be told which material from this category will be shared with the defendant. It should only be shared in an edited form to ensure that personal details or other irrelevant information is not revealed unnecessarily (e.g. photographs, addresses or full telephone numbers).

2. Unused material

This is material that is relevant to the offence, a person being investigated or the circumstances of the case – but it is not being relied upon to prove the offence in Court. There is a duty on prosecutors to share this material with the defendant if it assists their defence or undermines the prosecution case. Again, you should  be told which material from this category will be shared with the defendant, and it will be edited to hide personal or irrelevant information.

3. Non-relevant material

Any other material which is not included in evidence or unused material is considered non-relevant material and is not shared with the defendant. Data that does fall into this category should be deleted as soon as possible.

What if the police find something on my phone that I’m worried implicates me in another crime?

If the police discover data or information related to unrelated criminal activity on your mobile phone (i.e. messages about drug use), the DPNb states that police will “deal with this in a proportionate way” and that it is “most unlikely to be proportionate, for example, to investigate references in messages to drug use, when you have been the victim of a serious offence”.

The DPNb outlines a two-stage test for whether further investigation is necessary – officers will consider the seriousness of the offence being investigated set against the seriousness of the unrelated criminal activity, and whether there is risk of harm to any person as a result of the unrelated criminality.

When will I get my phone back?

Efforts should be made to return your mobile phone as soon as possible, and an approximate timeline should be provided. As part of the End to End Rape Review, the Government recently committed to returning phones within 24 hours or providing an alternative hand set if this is not possible.

What can I do if I’m unhappy with the way my phone data has been used?

If you have a complaint about the way in which the police have handled data from your mobile phone, you can complain to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights.

Contact details for the ICO are provided on form DPNb, or visit here.

The police investigation

Once you have given your statement, the police should continue to work on the investigation.

Depending on the circumstances of the case, the police may:

• contact any witnesses to the incident or to events before and afterwards and ask them to make a statement
• visit the scene of the assault and take photographs, fingerprints and collect any other forensic evidence
• conduct door-to-door enquiries in the area
• seize any evidence that may be relevant, such as from CCTV, a computer or a mobile phone (including your mobile phone)
• send evidence for forensic examination or analysis
• complete identification procedures
• trace the suspect’s movements (for example using CCTV or mobile phone analysis)
• arrest the suspect
• interview the suspect

The College of Policing provides lengthy guidance on the investigations of sexual offences which includes the sort of enquiries the police should be making, view it here.

If the suspect is a stranger, the police will carry out identification procedures and you may be asked to help.

If the suspect is known, the police will try to locate him to arrest and interview him.

You may be asked to help the police identify the suspect by:

• looking through photographs of known sex offenders
• helping a police artist create an image of him
• taking part in an identity parade
• being driven around the local area by police to see if you can identify him (if you reported the offence immediately after it happened)

Video identity parades

The most common method of identifying a suspect is the video identity parade. Video identity parades involve you looking at images of at least nine different people on a computer or television and trying to identify the suspect of the offence.

When you view the images, the suspect’s legal representative may be present. The officer in charge of the parade will then ask you a few questions to see if you can identify the suspect. If you require an interpreter, one will be provided for you. You will be shown the parade of images twice, and you can then ask to see the whole parade or individual images as many times as you wish. You will be asked if you can identify the suspect. You can then give the number of the person you think is the suspect. If you cannot identify the suspect you should say so.

Live identity parades

Sometimes the police will use a live identity parade, although this is very unusual. Live identity parades involve looking at a line-up of suspects through one-way glass. Again, a legal representative for the suspect may be present. If you did not get a clear view of the suspect during the assault, but heard his voice, line-up members may be asked to repeat whatever words you heard, and you will be asked if you can identify him in that way.

Other methods of identification

There are other less common identification procedures, such as group identification. Group identification is where you will be shown a suspect in an informal group of people outside of the controlled environment of police station identification. For example, at a railway station or shopping center. If the police wish to use this method of identification they will explain this to you and you can also speak to your Specially Trained Officer about this.

Whichever method is used, the aim is to see if you can identify the suspect from a group of men who have a similar appearance.

If a suspect is identified, the police may arrest him and question him about the offence.

A suspect may be arrested as part of an investigation to enable the police to question him or carry out further enquiries.

A police officer may arrest someone if they:

• know or suspects that person’s involvement or attempted involvement in a criminal offence, and
• has reasonable grounds for believing that the person’s arrest is necessary

The police should inform you within 24 hours of a suspect’s arrest so that you are aware of how your case is progressing.

Interviewing the suspect

Once a suspect has been arrested he will be interviewed by police officers. A suspect can also be interviewed without being arrested.

Before a suspect is interviewed he will be cautioned that he does not have to say anything to the police, but that it may disadvantage him at trial if he does not give his account during interview. Furthermore, anything he says in the interview can be used at court. The suspect is entitled to have a legal representative present to advise him. The interview will be recorded, and it may be used at any subsequent trial as part of the prosecution’s case.

After the interview

After the police have collected evidence, including interviewing the suspect, they will usually pass all of the evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who will decide whether or not the suspect can be charged with an offence.

This guidance states that the police should consult the CPS early on in an investigation of rape. If you do not think the CPS is being consulted, ask your Specially Trained Officer about this.

The police investigation can take some time, and may continue after he has been interviewed. After being arrested the suspect may be put on bail: this gives the police the opportunity to continue investigating the offence.

If a suspect is charged with an offence the investigation comes to an end and court proceedings begin.

There are two types of bail: unconditional and conditional. Both types of bail require the suspect to return to the police station on a given date.

Unconditional bail means that the suspect is released without any conditions.

If granted conditional bail the suspect will also be given some conditions which he has to comply with. These can include being banned from attending a certain address, not being allowed to contact a specific person directly or indirectly, and being required to live at a certain place.

Bail conditions can help to keep you safe especially where the suspect is someone you know or lives with you. Breach of bail conditions is a serious matter and can result in the suspect being arrested. If the suspect breaks any of these bail conditions you should tell the police immediately. If the investigation is finished and a decision has been made to charge the suspect, he can also be granted bail (as above) to attend court on a given date.

Released under investigation

In situations where the police investigation is ongoing it is becoming more common for suspects to be released following interview without being placed on bail. This is as a result of a change in law in April 2017 which means a person cannot be on bail (before being charged) for more than 28 days.

If this happens the person arrested and interviewed will not receive any conditions preventing them from contacting you, and will not be given a date to return to the police station. Instead, suspects will be released under investigation. This means that the investigation continues and if the suspect is later charged with an offence, they will usually be sent a letter telling them when to attend court.

When the police release the suspect from the police station they will inform him that any unnecessary or inappropriate contact between him and the victim or any other witness may be a criminal offence. Any contact that is reported to the police could result in prosecutions for intimidation of witnesses, harassment or perverting the course of justice.

Your safety

If you are concerned about your safety, you should tell the officer in the case.

Where the abuser is your boyfriend, husband or other relative you can apply to the Family Court for a nonmolestation order. See our guide Domestic Violence Injunctions. You could also ask for the police to consider serving a domestic violence protection notice (DVPN) and applying for a domestic violence protection order (DVPO).

Where the suspect is known to you and/ or knows where you live but is not a boyfriend, husband or another relative you should outline your safety concerns to the police. The police can put an alert on your phone number and/ or address so that if you contact them in an emergency they can quickly identify you as at risk. You can also consider applying to the civil court for a harassment injunction. See our guide Harassment and the law.

If the suspect is charged, he will either be remanded in prison or bailed as the 28-day limit only applies to bail before charge. The investigation will also come to an end and court proceedings begin.

Who are the Crow Prosecution Service?

The police are responsible for investigating criminal offences and protecting the public. Evidence and other information gathered in an investigation may be passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service (the CPS) who will then decide whether or not the suspect should be charged with a criminal offence. The CPS is also responsible for advising the police during an investigation, preparing the case for trial and either presenting it at court or getting a barrister to do so.

The lawyers who work for the CPS are called Crown Prosecutors. The head of the CPS is the Director of Public Prosecutions (the DPP). Just as the police have specialist officers who deal with offences of sexual violence, the CPS have specialist lawyers who deal with sexual offences. Only lawyers who have undertaken the required training courses and demonstrated the right skills will be allowed to prosecute rape cases. The CPS commit to ensuring that your case is dealt with by prosecutors who are highly experienced in dealing with sexual offences and alert to the needs of victims of sexual violence.

The CPS has made a 10-point pledge which states that if you are a victim of crime you can expect the CPS to:

• Take into account what impact a decision to charge (or not to charge) will have on you.
• Inform you if a charge is withdrawn, discontinued or substantially altered.
• When practical, seek your view on the acceptability of any guilty plea offered.
• Address any specific needs you have (for example, to assist you to give the best evidence in court that you can).
• Assist you to refresh your memory from your written or video statement and answer your questions on court procedure.
• Promote and encourage communication between you and the prosecutor at court.
• Protect you from unwarranted or irrelevant attacks on your character and intervene where cross-examination is inappropriate. Cross-examination is when you are questioned by the defendant’s lawyer.
• On conviction of the defendant, challenge defence mitigation which attacks your character. This means when the defendant is being sentenced he may make arguments for a lower sentence. If these arguments include something which is negative about you then the CPS should challenge this.
• On conviction, apply for an appropriate order for compensation or any order that could assist in protecting you in the future.
• Keep you informed of the progress of any appeal against conviction and/or sentence and explain any judgement.

The decision to charge

The decision to charge is usually taken by the CPS for serious crimes. In some cases, the police will make the decision as to whether to charge a suspect with an offence, or to discontinue a case (take no further action or ‘NFA’).

When making a decision about whether to charge a suspect, the CPS and police will look at all the available evidence and ask two questions (often referred to as the two-stage test):

• Is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction? (the evidential stage) and
• Is it in the public interest to prosecute? (the public interest stage)

The evidential stage

There has to be sufficient evidence to show that a sexual offence took place and that the suspect was responsible for it. To assess this, the prosecutor will look at all the evidence available, including anything the defendant says in his defence. The prosecutor must assess the evidence available, how reliable it is, and whether it is of sufficient quality.

When assessing the evidence, the prosecutor must ask themselves whether a jury (or the magistrates) will be more likely than not to convict the defendant.

The test the prosecutor is applying here (more likely than not) is not the same that is applied in the criminal trial. At a criminal trial the jury (or magistrates) has to be sure of the defendant’s guilt to convict him. What the prosecutor is doing when looking at the evidence is deciding whether or not a jury (or magistrates) could have sufficient evidence to reach that decision.

If there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction then the case cannot proceed, no matter how serious or sensitive it may be.

If there is sufficient evidence the prosecutor will then consider whether it is in the public interest to prosecute the suspect.

The public interest stage

Deciding whether prosecution is in the public interest involves balancing the factors in favour of prosecution with those against.

The factors that might influence a prosecutor to prosecute include:

• a conviction is likely to result in a lengthy sentence
• a weapon or violence was used or threatened
• the suspect was in a position of authority or trust
• there is evidence that the offence was planned
• the victim was vulnerable, has been put in fear, or personally attacked (and the level of harm caused)
• the offence was committed in the presence of, or near to, a child
• the impact on the community
• the offence was motivated by discrimination against the victim’s ethnic or national origin, age, disability, sex, religious or belief, gender identity or sexual orientation, or the suspect was hostile to the victim for one or more of these reasons
• the defendant has relevant, previous convictions

A decision taken not to prosecute a serious offence would have to be supported by clear reasons. Sexual violence must be taken very seriously by the CPS so if there is sufficient evidence available the public interest test will also usually be met unless one of the following factors are present:

• It would have a negative effect on the physical or mental health of the victim
• The suspect is very old or very young
• The suspect was, at the time of the offence, suffering from serious mental or physical ill health

All these issues should be weighed against the seriousness of the offence.

The full list of factors that prosecutors take into account can be found in the Code for Crown Prosecutors which is available to read and download from the CPS website.

Who makes the decision?

A CPS rape specialist prosecutor should make charging decisions in rape cases. The prosecutor will work closely with the Investigating Officer to ensure there is enough evidence for a prosecution. In cases that involve sexual violence, but not rape, a CPS rape specialist or another experienced CPS prosecutor may make the decision.

When will I be informed about the decision?

Under the Victims Code you are entitled to be informed, within 5 days, of a decision:

• to charge or prosecute the suspect
• to give the suspect an out of court disposal, such as any caution given by the police
• not to charge or prosecute the suspect

If you are a victim of the most serious crime, persistently targeted or vulnerable or intimidated (this would apply to most victims of sexual offences), you are entitled to the above information within 1 working day.

In certain specified cases (these include sexual offences) where the CPS informs you of a decision not to charge, you are also entitled to be offered a meeting with the CPS. The CPS is responsible for holding the meeting and may conclude that in all the circumstances, the meeting should not take place. If the CPS decides that a meeting is not appropriate, the decision will be explained to you.

The person responsible for telling you about a decision depends on how the decision was made:

• Where the CPS made the decision during a meeting with the police, the police are responsible for telling you the decision and must also tell you how to get further information about the decision from the CPS and of your right to review the decision.
• Where the decision was made by the CPS without a meeting with the police, the CPS are responsible for telling you the decision and providing you with details of how you can seek further information about this decision and of your right to review the decision.
• Where the decision was made by the police without referring the case to the CPS, the police will be responsible for informing you of this decision and of your right to review the decision.
• Where a decision has been made by the CPS to alter a charge or discontinue proceedings, they are responsible for informing you of this and for giving reasons for the decision. If the proceedings are completely stopped, you must be told how you can get further information about this decision and how you can seek a review of it.