I was the victim of an assault by my ex partner. I want to withdraw my statement but the police say no..?

Ian UK

To put it simply, this is a domestic incident which are taken seriously these days (quite rightly) and a person can be convicted even without a complainant, never mind a retraction.
With most crime a victim can retract a statement but not usually with domestic incident because of the serious nature of them and the fact that a high percentage of domestic incidents result in murder. One reason why they are taken so seriously.
Another reason is that in a lot of cases, the victim retracts the statement out of fear of the abuser. Because of this, the Crown Prosecution Service often now continues the case on behalf of the victim.
It does sound as though this person needs to be brought to justice from what you've said about the various offences.
As for the Police saying no, they are bound by the CPS decision as they aren't allowed to make charging decisions on domestic incidents any more.
My advice, stay away from him, despite how you may have once felt about him.
Speaking from personal experience this is usually the best course of action.
Good luck

BabyDaddy-U Gone Smell my cologn

You shouldnt of wasted their time in the first place if you werent going to go forward with it.

quelisto

Oh my gawd, you have to be kidding me. "He only demolished my car, beat me up, assaulted an officer, and beat up my sister and her friend". Are you nuts? He doesn't belong in prison? When is it okay for him to go, after he finally kills you? Don't worry, he eventually will kill you if you keep up this codependent enabling beahvior of yours.

Get some self respect and GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE!!! He is a coward and a criminal. Be an adult and get the hell out!

Barrie G

Maybe you would prefer that you be charged for wasting police time.
Of course the police may keep your statement, it is evidence.
It's women like you that really brass me off.
Chances are that if he's allowed to get away with it this time it will almost certainly happen again and what will you do then? You will once again call out the police who will once more waste hours getting statements from you and others only to find that you withdraw your allegations again.
If your husband isn't jailed then you should be.

kapute2

if he's been charged with assaulting a police officer, it's out of your hands. the officer can press charges all by himself. BTW, here in most American cities, if a charge of domestic battery is filed, it can't be rescinded either

JonBandit

sorry...he abused a cop during this investigation and u now want to help him? good luck!

champagne

What he did was classed as serious enough for them to charge him with or without your consent.

CHARISMA

It used to be that they couldn't press charges without your help, but now if they deem it is serious enough they can do so. I'm afrid he is going to get in a bit of trouble, but I doubt he will go to prison, if he does, it will be a month or so, and maybe it will stop him doing it again.
Do not feel guilty, he has broken the law and hurt you, the law says he must be punished.

shorte716

If you cover for him this time you will always be covering for him, someone viloent like that will start to get worse, you really need to walk away from the whole relationship. I know your saying he loves me and he is never like that and it will never happen agin, I hate to break the news to you hunny but it will happen again. Been there now i Got out.

prince_henry

well yes you can tell them that the statement you made was not in your opinion correct and you would like to withdraw it,but i think you would be very silly to do so, your ex deserves to be brought to book for what he did and if as you say its his first time in truoble its very very unlikely he will be sent down,
i think your using that as an excuse coz you still have feelings for him, to many women let men get away with hitting them, i think you should see this to the end, make a stand for women all over the UK

Boston Bluefish

The charge is indictable, and you have made a statement to the police. That statement is legal evidence, and under law you do not own it, so you have no right to withdraw it.
If you were to lie on the stand in a trial concerning this matter you could be arrested for perjury. If you want th matter to go away, just claim you don't remember anything when you go to court, even when they show your the statement just say you are drawing a blank. The prosecutor will be angry but the charge will be withdrawn, and there is nothing they can do to you.

Teresa C

Hi Chelbel

Firstly it wasn't just you involved, you, sister, her friend and abusing a police officer.

Years ago it used to be you v him in a court of law but since domestic violence became so regular and women were constantly refusing to press charges etc the system was then changed and it became her HM v him. In other words, its no longer you pressing charges, its the police and country as it were pressing charges and you are now the witness.

I have suffered domestic violence and i know how hard it is to be abused by the man you feel you love and how hard it is to feel loyal to them too.

But once they start hitting you, they carry on hitting you. You can tell yourself it wont happen again each time he breaks down and cries and tells you how much he loves you and it will never happen again but it does happen again, and again and again and not all women get out alive.

You stop being his g/f when he hits you, you then become his possession. You then become dependant upon him because he controls you. He will start on your friends, family or anyone that wants to defend you because it will push them out of your life giving him the ultimate control he wants.

No offence but I have no idea how old you are, i also do not know how long you have been together or his exes.But once a man hits a woman, he has lost respect for you as a person and protecting him is the worst thing you can do

Any man that hits a woman or even her sister or friends does not deserve you and perhaps you need to visit the womens refuges so you can see what may come your way in your future.

You are better than you think and he does not deserve you

There are many men out there whom are good and kind and treat women with respect so why settle for less when you can have the best? This is also about how you may feel about yourself

Shannon G

You need to follow through and I hope the guy has fun with Bubba in jail!

Nutty Girl

I think the police used to let you do this but because loads of women changed their minds they now don't let you .
if it was a 1st time he probably will get community service and not jailed .
you also have nothing to feel bad bad about he did it all himself and i'm sure you rang the police for good reason and if it happened again i'm sure you would be ringing the police again.

Golf Alpha Nine-seven

As you've provided a statement with regards to the incident you will most likely be called to give evidence in court assuming that he does not plead guilty beforehand. Remember the case is now in the hands of the Crown Prosecution Service, not the police. It is down to the CPS to decide whether they can dispense with you as a live witness in Court. If anything the boys at the local nick were doing you a favour by saying you couldn't withdraw your statement because 9.9 times out of 10 the CPS will disregard your thoughts and feelings on the matter and press on with the prosecution. Before the trial begins you will be given a time and date to attend court to give your evidence. If you do not turn up it is very likely that the judge, if it goes to Crown Court, which sounds likely; will issue a warrant for your arrest. If you are picked up on warrant the boys in blue will take you straight to court where the judge will most likely find you in Contempt of Court and you will be given a fine and/or Community Order. You will then be forced to take the stand and you will be treated as a hostile witness, trust me you do not want this to happen.

My suggestion is to co-operate with the police and the CPS fully. It will be easier on you in the long-run and if your ex gives you grief about supporting proceedings in this matter then tell him to think of his own actions in future. It sounds as though you have not had any contact with your local Witness Care Unit. They are a partnership agency run between your local police and CPS. They are there to help you through this process and explain to you what is happening in your case. If you have specific needs they can get these addressed before the trial begins. It is far better to work with the law than to try and run away and bury your head in the sand. Give your local force a call and ask to be contected to the Witness Care Unit. (If you can't afford the call, give them your number and they will call you back). They are a great asset to have and can really help you out.

David

C'mon ABH & two counts of assault !!!

Re-read this question AND PRETEND THAT IT IS ONE SOMEONE ELSE HAS POSTED.

What's going through your mind?
"He will do it again"
"Better off out of it"
"He deserves it"
" 'GENERALLY HAS NEVER BEEN VIOLENT !!!! ???? ' - What kind of a man is this?"
"This girl is a total victem"

Talk to the Police, but do not retract anything, also seek advice on domestic abuse.

Ray2play

I am not sure about the UK but in the USA a statement can't be retracted. A charge can be dropped but only by the party pressing the charges. If it you are pressing charges then you can drop the charges. If it is the state pressing charges then only they can drop the charges. In either case and probably in either country abusing a police officer.... Not good....

Zog

it's only the beginning, he's done it once so he'll do it again. And i bet you will start to act different so not to anger him.

rukidding

It is probably strong enough to stand on its own but your statement makes the case stronger.

Roy M

as in the u.s. you cannot retract and also here if you don't press charges, you go to jail too. next time you may not be so lucky, trash this guy before he does something worse to you or anyone else.

hepp t

What he has done is wrong , he has a violent behaviour, even if you wish to withdraw this, you can't he will end up going to jail anyway with that type of nature , if he don't stop.

Greg N

They can charge him without your consent.

Even if they didn't he'd still got to jail for attacking your sister and her friend.

He's going down-and from what you say he deserves to.

MANCHESTER UK

Although I think this should go 'all the way' if only to teach somebody who has committed very serious offences a lesson or two, you are within your rights to tell the Police that you do not wish to proceed with the charges that were relevant to you. Tell them that you are not prepared to attend court to give evidence against him FOR THE TWO CHARGES OF ASSAULT AGAINST YOU. This does not absolve you from giving evidence against the other victims of his assaults.

If the Police witnessed the assaults against you, they can legitimately get you to testify.

The solicitor acting for you should be asked for his/her opinion first.

srracvuee

its the police who are charging him and its not anything to do with you now that's why they said no to your request

bujinkaiwarrior

Firstly it is highly unlikely that he will go to prison, the most he will get is a fine and community service. Secondly you have every right to withdraw your statement, but the police can still go ahead with the prosecution, although how far they will get without your co-operation is obvious. I think this is a case of police stubborness. If you really feel that strongly about withdrawing your statement then stand your ground!!!!

mgodh

My husband treated me like a second class citizen. All because his mother and two sisters and father did not accept me as his partner. They refused to accept even after we got married annd after ee had our baby a year ago. He turned abusive and violebt in my prrgnancy abd he would crwate verbal argument almost every day in our home. He is a Police officer and the violence he used against me was spitting on my face slappibg me pushing me kicking me and at one incident he gave me black eye a cut lip bruising wgere he frabbed me b

lawsucks

I think in some situations the law and system need to be looked at again, as i, and i held my hands up, was violent towards a partner, i was sentenced, part of the sentence was to attend a course called IDAP (intergrated domestic abuse programme) which is 9 months long, and i learnt alot and passed it with flying colours...but here in lays the problem, You see once something like that is on your record, you can certainly forget about the rehabilitation of offenders act, as you will NOT be listened too, me and my current partner had a row, police attended, and as soon as the pnc came back, i was arrested, purely for the fact that i had past history, the police then proceeded after several hours, to coax my partner into giving a statement alleging assault (this assault never physically took place) but due to my ONE previous conviction of well over a year ago, it has left me in court trying to clear my name, now i aint stupid, i know this isnt going to happen, my partner has tried several times to retract or even ammend her statement to include the police coersion, but has been refused, this is because the system, although needed, is a little too tight, and does need to be readressed and amended. EVERYONE criminal or not has the right to live a normal life, and as much as most disagree, even criminals have the right to rehabillitate themselves, but answere this, if a system is in place to block such rehabilitation, then how is one supposed to rehabilitate themselves?? Its a strange system indeed, it only takes a cry of wolf these days to land an innocent person in hot water, so i ask, wheres the justice in that? aint we supposed to be innocent until prooven guilty? with this new system, you are actually guilty until proven innocent, so in my opinion, and it is only an opinion, the system fails on many levels.

Excuse me do you not think she has been through enough? I am going through exactly the same thing. She never said she phoned the police. They make you feel like you have to make a statement and bully you when your vulnerable. I'm trying to find out if I can retract my statement too. Because I feel he has learnt his lesson and has already lost everything (me and my son) he is getting help. I didn't ring the police and I don't feel I have wasted there time. They were great at first when getting the statement then did nothing they said they would. Do what you think is best. Withdraw your statement if you feel its the right thing not if your getting bullied by his family!

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