To feel really let down by Police & CPS

[Charliefarlie1192]

A few weeks ago I was attacked by my ex partner. He broke in, locked all the doors and drew the curtains and beat me up. I escaped by distracting him and jumping out of the window, he followed me and continued the attack in the street. 3 seperate addresses called the police (neighbours watching from windows) I was black and blue.

I gave a statement, took photos and waited.......3 weeks later I am still waiting only to call and be told that he had been arrested and released without charge due to lack of evidence.

I am utterly appalled, shocked and frightened that this was allowed to happen to me without him even being brought to charge, does he have to murder me next time to get the police to pay attention?

I strongly disagree with Candr's advice to say that he is armed if it happens again. Lying about a material fact is exactly the kind of thing which would lead to no prosecution.

My concern is that it isn't a CPS mistake, but a failure by the police to gather the evidence needed by the CPS to prosecute. That's certainly what happened in my case.

I absolutely believe you OP. My SIL's exH attacked her house last year, luckily she wasn't home, but smashed windows, kicked the front door in etc. Police had statement from taxi driver who brought him there, confirming he was drunk and ranting about revenge, plus he then ADMITTED it and SIL was still told there wasn't enough to proceed. Please keep fighting it. My SIL didn't feel strong enough to but you have a mountain of support here and I hope you have some in RL too?

Thanks all, I am lucky to have tons of support from family and friends. I will pursue this further, no way I am letting that parasite do this to me and turn our lives upside down through fear too

Poor you. What terrible things you have been through. Do you think the Independent Police Complaints Authority could look into the handling of the case?

im a police officer and with the domestics i have ever been involved with we HAVE to go to the CPS for a charging decision - the police do not have much sway where domestics are concerned. I am sorry you have been let down but the police will have i have no doubt done their job to the best of their ability. I am sorry for you and that you feel you have been let down, ask fully for the reasons but stay calm, the police generally want to work for you, they hate it as much as the victim when the result is not good,

Forget the police, go to the IPCC. If they find there really is not enough evidence for a conviction then you can go down the civil court route.

It's sad that the police still see some things as 'a domestic'.

find out if they actually have contacted the CPS - often they say they have when they have not.

Sorry Vicar but I disagree. You might be a good police officer and do your job to the best of your ability but like in all professions there are always those that do a half arsed job.

Sadly domestic violence cases don't represent value for money as far as prosecutions are concerned. They take a lot of time, care and tact to investigate, there's a strong chance there won't be enough evidence to go to court or the victim will drop the charges. If it does get to court and the defendant is found guilty the sentence is likely to be non custodial or very short, but cost a lot to get to that point. So some in the police or the CPS don't do as good a job as they should, safe in the knowledge that their superiors will turn a blind eye due to ever decreasing budgets. And mostly the victims don't complain as they're already fairly brow beaten.

So complain OP. Complain loudly and publicly. Ask why the reviewing lawyer didn't write to you. Ask what statements the police got, and if they didn't get any why not? Contact the IPCC and your MP and the CCP for your area. Let them know you aren't going away. Because guys like this don't deserve to get away with it.

sashh 'domestic' isn't a dismissive term, it's shorthand for 'domestic abuse', which if anything is treated with greater care, seriousness (and funding) than a common assault in the street.

DV is taken very seriously in my force - we HAVE to take positive action and justify ourselves and our every move, and if a suspect pleads not guilty we HAVE to go to CPS for a charging decision and after that it is often out of the polices hands. It is so demoralising to have worked on something to the best of your ability and then still get someone complaining when you have done your absolute utmost to bring about a conviction, and when the decision is often then taken out of your hands.
There is no "value for money" - i dont understand what you are saying - it does not correlate with everything i see within my working life at all. At the end of the day, lack of a prosecution is not always grounds to complain about the police. People have this very cut and dried view that it always comes down to the police and that is simply not the truth.
The "witnesses" in this case may have refused to give statements or go to court, but i am playing guessing games here, and without the full facts it is very hard to speculate about the reason no charge was brought, but i do get so tired of people always assuming its the fault of the police officer who is probably just as pissed off about it as you are.

sorry i should have made it clear that i was answering fuggbugly but hope it goes some way to explaining to OP aswell,

OP, stay calm and phone the officer in the case back to ask what happened. Only when you have all the facts can you make a rational decision as to what happens next.

How awful for you - I know nothing about the legal side, but I just want to interject on the matter of telling your MP. Don't wait for anything else - drop him/her an email. They have offices of people to help with correspondance from constituents and they will be able to advise and hopefully pull strings. Put your postcode in the email as they can only help their own constituents, and it is confidential.

I should add, google 'They Work For You' for contact details.

I hope you get the justice you deserve, and that the police start taking you seriously. Sometimes I think they're a waste of space.

vicar, at the end of the day it's irrelevant to the victim as to WHY they haven't received justice. Reading your posts it sounds to me like the system is fucked up.

Sorry vicar, 'value for money prosecutions' bit was meant with reference to the CPS. They have a set budget for all prosecutions, and they have to achieve a certain percentage of positive outcomes - guilty pleas or convictions. Domestic violence cases are less likely than some other crimes to result in a positive outcome due to victims not pressing charges or dropping them, or witnesses being reluctant to be involved. So sometimes they get overlooked in favour of cases that will be easier to get the right result.

I agree with Vicar. Quite often the decision of the CPS is opposite to what the actual Officer wants to happen.
Without knowing the ins and outs of the case it is impossible to say what has happened here. You need to speak with the Officer in Case to establish exactly what has happened and why the decision to not charge him has been made.
Was he arrested straight away or have they being trying to track him down?

Did the police take photos? You shouldn't have to rely on your own. It is true that most police officers will do the best they can but sometimes 'some' need a kick up the arse (as in most professions). Its difficult to comment without the full facts but you can ring and ask to speak to the officer concerned or a supervisor if you are not happy. Don't let it put you off, and push for an explanation.

OK, so the officer investigating this has gone on long term sick..........I have spoken to his colleague who came out to see me yesterday after I complained (very loudly) on the phone.

He said he has NO idea why this has been closed off, and that he is re-opening the case himself and wants my pictures, medical consent forms signing, damages property looked at, and is going to see my neighbours again

So, lets hope this time ex is brought to justice.....thats al I want

forgot to add that when all the evidence has been gathered by the new officer, he is going to arrest ex again and is going to aim to do so within a week- cant come a moment sooner

God that's disgusting. Glad the new police officer is taking it seriously.

Thank God you complained OP . It just goes to show how worthwhile it is to do so. Good luck with everything.