To ask someone to talk me through the process of getting a stalking and harrassment case to CPS?

[IRememberWhenThisWasAllFieldsAndCakePunching]

It’s a very niche question, I know, but if anyone can help me, it’s the mumsnet collective.

long story short - my partner (male, if it’s relevant) was harassed via text, email, WhatsApp and video messages over a period of time, culminating in the culprit finding our street name, traveling with a weapon to our street, knocking on doors until they found our home, then smashed our camera on our house and tried to gain entry while we were eating dinner. Fortunately, my partner was able to stop him, but it was very scary, very upsetting for all concerned and I and my young child have been very disturbed since.

he was arrested and initially charged with stalking , harrassment and assault. We have all the screenshots and messages etc as evidence and he has admitted it. The police say he’s denied the assault, even though we do have all the footage from an additional camera, they are not pursuing anything other than the stalking and harrassment.

we are now at the stage where the police have given us a choice, effectively. We can pursue and send it to the CPS or we can agree to community resolution, which I think is basically a letter of apology.

I don’t want this. A letter of apology means nothing to me. He has greatly affected my life and that of my child. My partner is concerned that the CPS won’t take the case despite meeting the evidential criteria. Can anyone advise as to how the CPS decide whether to take cases?

The CPS will look at it and assess whether there is a realistic prospect of a conviction and whether prosecuting is in the public interest.

The police will need to make the case to the CPS. You won’t get to speak to them. It sounds like the test is met in court case. I’m surprised the police offered a community resolution for a stalking charge, which is fairly serious as far as these things go.

The CPS will decide whether to prosecute based on the public interest (which isn’t always the same as the victim’s interest) and whether they feel there’s a realistic chance of conviction. In my experience, what members if the public consider to be solid evidence isn’t always the same as what a court considers to be solid evidence, so bear that in mind.

The CPS doesn’t act on behalf of the victim and you and your partner will have little to no say in whether they decide to charge the suspect and/or how they present any case to the court. The prosecution is on behalf of the Crown, not victims. As the PP said, the conversation on whether to charge will be between the police and the CPS only.

This is what I’m finding a bit confusing - the officer in charge of our case has said its victim led so wants us to decide what to do. It feels like a massive incident in my life, but I understand that on a relative scale it’s minor. I want to tell them to go ahead and take it to CPS but my partner is worried that they will just dismiss it, or whatever the correct term is.

I think it might be the bit about public interest that would stop it going forward.

If you go down the prosecution route you do run the risk, if the evidence is poor, that he will be found not guilty. For the victim that can be quite hard to deal with as it feels like it never happened & there are no consequences. The case is then closed & any further behaviour is dealt with virtually at square 1.

A community resolution isn't just a letter of apology - there will be conditions attached to it that will have further consequences if he continues the behaviour.

There should be a dedicated witness & victim care service attached to your police force & also charities that can provide specific advice.

Hello, OP.

Stalking and harassment are absolutely not minor offences, and neither the CPS nor the courts treat them as such. It's really important you understand this.

The key texts are the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the Director's Guidance on Charging. Both can easily be found through Googling.

Offences of harassment and stalking can only be charged following CPS advice, so are generally referred to the CPS for a decision. When deciding whether to prosecute, the lawyer assigned to the case will first have to decide whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute - that is to say, sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction - and, if there is (and only if there is), whether a prosecution would be "in the public interest".

As set out in the Code, this means asking him or herself a series of questions, one of which is "what was the impact on the victim?" As the police will have taken and forwarded to the CPS a Victim Personal Statement (what used to be called a Victim Impact Statement) from you, setting out the effect the incidents have had on you, the lawyer should be in a good position to weigh this up.

If the lawyer decides the case doesn't pass the evidential and public interest tests, they will write to you to tell you they are not prosecuting and will explain why not. The letter will also explain how you are able to ask for the decision to be reconsidered, as is your right.

One other thing I would like you to be aware of is that if the case goes to court, the prosecutor can apply for a restraining order against the defendant even if he or she is found not guilty. Disobeying such an order is a serious offence and will normally result in a jail sentence.

I hope this is useful: feel free to reply if anything is unclear.