If an offence/crime took place on holiday. What police force should it be investigated by?

[Chariotslion]

There's evidence of said offence in form of video footage..
All parties are back in the UK now.. The offence took place overseas.
Should the investigating police force be the area in which the perpetrator lives?

I’m not an expert but surely it could depend on the offence?

Did they trash a local business? Then it’s the local police who will be involved.

Did they kill/physically attack a fellow national? I’d guess both forces would be cooperating on this especially if they’re now back home.

As a general rule I always thought it was the responsibility of the force local to where the crime was committed.

Police officer here. It will largely depend on the offence. Unless it's a serious offence, it will usually default to the country in which the offence occurred.

This link might help: www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/jurisdiction

So without being too outing it was child abuse.. A father physically abusing his child..
It was reported to the perpetrators local police force but they said they couldn't investigate as it took place abroad, however the footage was sent to children's services and they said the perpetrator should be prosecuted..

Child abuse is different. If you have evidence of abuse then you can take it to UK police.

Actually, just reading up, it seems to be more sexual abuse than physical. Was it a bad attack?

I was raped overseas and didn’t report it at the time. I reported it to the UK police once I was back home, they took my statement and said that they could go through Interpol to work with the police in the country it happened with. However it later transpired the punishment for the crime had he been found guilty in his country would have been the death penalty and so the investigation was stopped as I was advised it was unlikely the UK police would continue an investigation/ prosecution if it looked like the punishment would be death. But prior to finding out what the punishment would be the police had been helpful and I got the impression that a crime happening overseas wasn’t in itself a barrier.

@Chariotslion

So without being too outing it was child abuse.. A father physically abusing his child.. It was reported to the perpetrators local police force but they said they couldn't investigate as it took place abroad, however the footage was sent to children's services and they said the perpetrator should be prosecuted..

The most important thing would be children's services making sure the child is now safe.

It was v bad physical abuse :( the child was extremely distressed, those who have reviewed the evidence have all been highly disturbed.. Just wondering how I would go about reporting it and explaining it happened overseas. Children's services want him prosecuted.

The UK courts generally have no extra territorial jurisdiction in the case of physical abuse overseas. So children’s services will not be able to have him prosecuted in UK.

The current law limits extra territorial jurisdiction to a limited number of crimes - sexual ofences, FGM, etc.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-bill-2020-factsheets/extraterritorial-jurisdiction-factsheet

Depending on where the alleged offences took place, they may be able to persuade the courts in that country to prosecute if there is compelling video evidence - and if that is admissable in the local courts. It may not be. But that will not be straightforward or quick.

They will however be able to take this information into account when looking at access arrangements in UK.

The evidence was played in court. The family courts.. The perpetrator was having supervised contact but that has since stopped by breaching the court order.. The local authority that I now live in are in receipt of this evidence and have stated if it was down to them the perpetrator would never ever see their child ever again, during this particular incident that was captured on footage, he would've killed her had he carried on not been stopped.

I'm so sorry, @Chariotslion . That must be devastating. I'm glad children's services are able to be supportive, within their remit, and hope that the police can keep the information on file for future reference should it be needed.

I took a chance and reported it..