To expect proper treatment from the police and CPS as a victim??

[anon69]

I'm posting this as I've really reached the end of the road (and my rope), with trying to get the police and CPS to treat me as a human being, and not a statistic.

I won't go into the full details, but will try to explain as briefly and succintly as possible.

Had a relationship with a single dad for a year on and off. When sober lovely guy.....but drank every night, and then insanely jealous and controlling, although never violent. Ended it in October, though remained good friends, as did our children (both of us have special needs kids).

Went out with friends one night in January and didn't answer text from him for an hour.....after over 100 missed calls that night and abusive messages, then spent weeks declaring undying love, apologies, sending flowers, money etc.

I asked him repeatedly to leave us alone, never to come to house etc. Culminated i him throwing himself through my front door after an uninvited visit after complaint to the police. Knocked me out, dented hardwood front door on my eye socket (cut down to bone, permanent scarring), left me bleeding on floor and drove home. This was done in front of my three children.

Police allowed him TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO BE ARRESTED 3 DAYS LATER!! Communication has been awful, have made 3 formal complaints and still not dealt with properly, and Professional Standards have been a joke.

What I'm very upset with is according to charging standards he should be charged with GBH, and charge is only ABH because police weren't doing their jobs in obtaining medical reports. I have scarring, problems with both my eyes, need an op on my right eye to remove an enormous floater caused by bang to the head. Have severe pain on left side of face and in eye itself, and sight has been affected. To top it all just been diagnosed with severe post traumatic stress and need ongoing psychotherapy.

Police are saying they can't do anything about charges. Head of DV at CPS originally told me to make police complaint as was disgusted at way it was dealt with! He also told me when he had medical reports reflecting my injuries would upgrade charges.....but this hasn't been done, and now everyone refusing to speak to me.

He's been charged with harrassment and ABH. Admitted harrassment initially in interwiew, but at first hearing plead not guilty to everything and now children and I need to give evidence which I'm dreading. My CPS solicitor refused to even see me at court to tell me if he was being charged with ABH or GBH!! Court staff told me after he was going to trial at Crown, then I only found out a week ago he's back to magistrates.

I've tried to get hold of all the advice lines but can't get through, and because it's CPS can't get legal aid to help.

To put this in perspective, this guy is 6'3" and about 17 stone.....I'm 5'6", 9 stone, and disabled. I use a stick and have been very ill for the last two years waiting for an op. He knows all this but still did this in front of my children. The police will not accept how scared I am despite moving, and the charge is certainly not appropriate. As I said, I have kids with special needs, and I'm struggling to get them to understand why he's not locked up, and still may not be. They shouldn't be put through this and have a mum who's now a mental as well as physical wreck because of this nutter.

The trial is before the end of June, and I'm desperate for help.

Anyone, please??

Forgot to add seabright, have finally been referred for psychotherapy for PTSD from community psych, but she has warned me it's likely to take a long time, and could even recur permanently. Triffic :(

Ty prolesworth

I'm so sorry. I also found the police unhelpful in the extreme when I needed them.
My ex stalked and threatened me big time. Police talked to him and he told them I am mentally ill.
No I am not mentally ill, but I am afraid of my ex.
Anyway, after that, my calls to the police were met with 'Well, we know you are mentally ill..etc'
They took his word for it and ignored my pleas for help - until he went for my next-door-neighbour - by mistake.
Once a third person was involved it was all suddenly taken seriously, but previously I was shrugged off by them as mentally ill, because he said so.
I can't help feeling they are all mates of his.
Anyway, please take the good advice offered here; I wish I had known half of this before.

Prolesworth, yes, I did make a complaint.

I am so disillusioned. I have never been on the wrong side of the law, had very little contact with them, and could not believe the way I was treated by most of them when I did need them.
I didn't understand at first why they kept saying about my mental health issues and I said 'I haven't any.'
I thought they had mixed me up with someone else to be honest. Then a policeman said "we know you have mental health problems - your ex husband told us.'!!!!!!
So he says it, it must be true.

I can't believe their naivety and stupidity, frankly.

I'm sorry you got no satisfactory outcome either. I wonder how many of us there are?

What a terrible thing to happen to you.

Arrest appointments are quite common and can be misunderstood. You say he is a single dad and as such they may have made an appointment so that childcare could be arranged. Also, he may have been hiding from Police and as such the only way to get people in some times is by appointment.

CPS make all the decisions regarding what charges are brought. They can only make decisions based upon what evidence they have. It might be worth you checking what it says in the medical report regarding your injuries. The medical report is put together by a medical professional and maybe it's possible that your injuries aren't documented correctly. You can get this through the freedom of information act.

Definitely apply for criminal injuries compensation. You are entitled to it.

Your children will be entitled to special measures with regards to giving evidence. Speak to your witness care officer and explain that you don't feel comfortable giving evidence in court and see if there are any special measures that you could get. EG giving evidence via video link or behind a screen.

Even if he had been charged with GBH he may plea bargain to get a lesser offence of ABH. Sadly, that is the state of the legal system. Has he been to court yet to make his plea? All cases are first heard at magistrates court then the magistrates decide whether it goes to crown or not for sentencing. Magistrates had their sentencing powers increased so it may fall into their remit now.

As far as I'm aware, there is still victim support available to all who want it. You could look up the number for your area online and call them. Explain it all to them and they may be able to give you support or point you in the right direction.

Re: the procedure. If court staff told you he was going to the crown court then they would mean he had elected crown court trial or jurisdiction had been declined. There would then be another mags court hearing 6 weeks later at which point the casewould be committed to the Crown Court. It isn't a case of him going back to the mags, just the procedure for getting to the CC.

If it is pre committal then you are in the very early stages and you are likely to find that things become clearer as you go along. I would hold off complaints at this stage as you are unlikely to get a prosecutor on side by going down that route. There may not even be a dedicated prosecutor assigned yet. I would be surprised if any prosecutor was willing to have a charging discussion with a complainant at the magistrates court but you my well find the assigned prosecutor a bit more accessible as time goes by.

It is inevitably going to be a long and frustrating process but I really would think about taking a step back for now and seeing if things improve. You really won't get the charges changed by complaints and, worst case scenario, you may finish up with a prosecutor getting very resistant to working with you or keeping you in the loop. If things really don't improve as you get closer to trial then that is the time to think about complaining.

Finally, abh will be easier to prove and can still carry a hefty sentence.

You Have had some great advice from people who clearly work in the system here. I do too. May I suggest the following -

1. Get in touch with your MP. They will have a local clinic where you can make an appointment and talk it over. Usually panics the CPS into submission once they receive a letter from the MP. I recently knew of a case which got dropped and the defendants were told as such. It was later resurrected following intervention from an MP following a complaint from the aggrieved party. The case was involving property crime, so it wasn't even violent or sexual.

1. Contact victim support. They will liase and arrangements should be made for you to give evidence at court behind a screen or via tv link. This will be an automatic right for your children due to their age. Unfortunately the general rule of thumb is that in a contested matter of this type you have to give live evidence. But in my experience in these types of cases defendants are just trying their luck and hoping their victims won't attend and give evidence. He may change his plea once he knows you and the kids are at court. He can change his plea at any time.

1. Yes by the sound of your injuries it sounds like a GBH. However as you were behind the door was he aware you were there when he broke in? If not then generally speaking an ABH would be deemed perhaps more appropriate, as GBH requires a greater degree of culpability. Sounds like he is facing a custodial penalty in any event if he is convicted of ABH. Contrary to popular belief the Courts are tough on domestic violence cases particularly when children are present, rightly so.

1. Regardless of outcome seek compensation from the criminal injuries compensation bureau. They will consider a claim regardless of the outcome at Court.

Good Luck.

Bunty, what was the result of your complaint?

Dear anon69,

I am the Head of the Correspondence Unit at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and, as such, I am responsible for complaints against the CPS. Your posting has been brought to my attention. I am truly sorry to hear of the experiences that you outline and would like to assist you in any way that I can. May I suggest that you telephone 020 3357 0899 to speak to a member of my team? Alternatively you can lodge a formal complaint against the CPS via our website: www.cps.gov.uk.

Head of Correspondence Unit
Crown Prosecution Service

Gosh OP, bite their hands off and give them a call!

Bumping this so hopefully OP sees it

Hi all,

Sorry I've been quiet,as I said am disabled, and been very ill this week.

Bunty - so sorry to hear of your experience, doesn't sound dissimilar to mine. After interviewing him police said to me they didn't know why I was so scared as he seemed like a nice bloke and texts I received weren't threatening. When I asked how they knew that as no-one had looked at my phone, I was told 'oh, because he said so'. That was also how they made their bail decision!

Deeppurple - I know he wasn't hiding from the police, as he attacked me at 19:45 and was approx. hour's drive home from me. Had text from his sister to tell me he was home at 22:00. It was then he called police from his home phone to make an appointment to speak to them. The police will not discuss what is in my medical reort. Have tried to obtain copy from hospital, but that have been told as part of an ongoing investigation they are not to disclose that information to me. I have applied for CICA, but to be honest will only go into trust for the children, don't want to see any part of it, makes me feel sick. Children and I have all been offered video links, but I am unsure what to do. Part of me wants to face him, and show him and the court the scars and what he's done to me.....the rest of me is scared I'll fall apart and make an idiot of myself. As I said, victim support been withdrawn for DV cases from 31st March for all but the most serious cases.

Mare11bp - will try my MP, thank you. Though was completely hopeless when homeless so won't hold my breath lol. Victome support non-existent as per above.

Head of correspondence unit - I spoke to your complaints line several weeks ago, and an email complaint was forwarded to a Lorraine Fortune, who is apparently the head of East Mids CPS complaints. I am yet to hear from her. Forgive my cynicism but I find it difficult to take anyone seriously, however genuine their motives may appear. Would you please be kind enough to send me a private message with your number so I can contact you direct. Witha many thanks, and the hope you are a real and genuine person who is able to help.

Thank you everyone else.....I will keep you posted xx

Dear anon69,

Thank you for replying to my colleague HeadofCorrespondenceUnit. I remember talking to you about your concerns on 17 May 2011, and I forwarded these to East Mids CPS complaints on 18 May 2011.

I have today been in contact with East Mids CPS complaints, and they have informed me that a response to the concerns you raise regarding the handling of your case by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is in hand. They also informed me that they sent a letter to you, acknowledging the concerns raised by you, following your call to me on 17 May 2011. I have asked them to call you, on the telephone number that you provided, to check that they have your correct contact details, and to update you on when a full response will be with you.

If you have any further concerns, please contact the Correspondence Unit on 020 3357 0899, and I or one of my colleagues will try to help.

Correspondence Unit
Crown Prosecution Service

Well I have received ABSOLUTELY NO CORRESPONDENCE FROM ANYONE WITHIN THE CPS SINCE THE 17TH MAY. I have informed EVRYONE involved in my case of my change of address (please note, I moved a substantial period of time prior to 17th May), but as with other communications both within the CPS and other Criminal Justice agencies, I seem to be completely ineffectual in requesting employees within said agencies to take note of such changes. Whether said persons are just unable or unwilling to note such changes I do not know. I wish to make something very clear;

I DO NOT WISH TO BE ON MUMSNET COMPLAINING ABOUT ANY ASPECT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. HOWEVER, AS A VICTIM OF A SEVERE UNPROVOKED ASSAULT LEADING TO BOTH PERMANENT PHYSICAL AND SEVERE PSYCHIATRIC INJURY, THIS HAS BEEN THE ONLY AVAILABLE AVENUE I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO THINK OF OPEN TO ME OTHER THAN THE PRESS.

I HAVE NO FAMILY. I AM DISABLED, AWAITING MAJOR SURGERY, HAVE 3 YOUNG CHILDREN 2 OF WHOM HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS, AND THE ONE FRIEND I HAD SMASHED A DOOR IN MY FACE. I HAVE HAD TO MOVE, AND HAVE NOT EVEN HAD A RESPONSE FROM THE POLICE OFFICER IN CHARGE, MY SOCIAL WORKER, OR CPS IN AT LEAST A MONTH.

IS THIS ACCEPTABLE TO ANY ONE OF US??!!!!!!!

I think it's about time someone stepped up and did the job they're paid for. Enough said.

Normally the domestic violenve unit contact you after a domestic incident. it may be worth trying them

Fifis25StottieCakes - the incident was 13th Feb.....I am still waiting for DVU. I attended court for first hearing, CPSrefused to even tell me what he was being charged with. Police Inspector there at time promised someone from DV would be in touch because of way I'd been treated.

That was nearly 7 weeks ago.....

Still waiting

Have you tried posting in domestic violence. It was 8 years ago i suffered domestic abuse and things may have changed. Someone there may have better advice

Ty stottie....have tried legal and not one response. Didn't find DV board??

Ive just looked theres not one i thought there was. Not sure what you can do next TBH

OP - you can only do your piece in giving evidence - the rest is unfortunatley out of your control. Try not to give the idiot any more of your life by worrying about something you cannot control. Try to distance yourself from the process if possible.

What is within your control is seeking a civil injunction against him, so that he can be arrested if he breaches it. If you qualify for legal aid, you will probably get assistance. I used to work for the Legal Aid Board and unfortunatley your type of problem was one of the most common types of work they deal with. It really opened my eyes as to how common harassment from ex partners is. Make an appointment to see a solicitor who does legal aid work asap please.

Thank you for the reply nijinsky. The one thing they do seem to be doing correctly is applying for a lifetime restraining order. I know many people may not understand this, but I am more concerned with him being charged according to his actions and subsequent physical/mental/criminal damage caused ACCORDING TO CPS CHARGING STANDARDS, and then serving the APPROPRIATE SENTENCE AS PER SENTENCING GUIDELINES. I don't expect him to be made an example of. But as he left his 2 children at home, drove 30 miles to my home whilst under the influence of alcohol, then attacked me without provocation in front of 3 children no older than 12, and subsequently left me unconscious to drive home without summoning medical help, I DO EXPECT HIM TO AT LEAST BE CHARGED APROPRIATELY!!!

This was all after harrassing me for weeks - including multiple uninvited text communication with both my childminder and special needs son - although despite all of my children witnessing the attack, still pleading not guilty.

By the way, I copiedthis from the CPS website......beggars belief realy!!.....

Prosecutors should recognise the diversity of victims. Victims' experiences of domestic violence are undoubtedly affected by identities distinct from gender, like their ethnicity, age, sexuality, disability, immigration status, and religion or belief.