Can the victim drop charges?

Question

In this example, pretend Alex stabs Bob using cutlery (a knife) at a restaurant, who subsequently presses charges as it was an unprovoked attack.

Bob later decides to drop the charge, he has survived but it left with reduced hand movement to the extent he can no longer write, or hold a mobile phone.

In this narrow scenario, that assumes there were no other factors at play (for example the knife style was not banned), since Bob has dropped the charge are the police still allowed to pursue the attacker Alex?

This question is for the United Kingdom, England and Wales only.

Answer 1

england-and-wales

In England and Wales, with the exception of private prosecutions, complainants don't 'press' (or drop) charges.

There are several public authorities that can prosecute criminal offences but generally we talk about circumstances that involve the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

When a crime is reported to the police the police investigate. When the police complete their investigation they refer the case and send the evidence to the CPS. (A minor offence such as low value shoplifting can be handled by the police, although if the case goes to court it must be reviewed by the CPS before the first hearing.)

Generally the CPS decides whether to prosecute based on 'the Full Code Test'. In short:

1. "Is there enough evidence against the suspect to provide a realistic prospect of conviction?"

2. "Is it in the public interest to prosecute?"

(In urgent situations the CPS might decide it's necessary to decide based on 'the Threshold Test'.)

The CPS prosecutes on behalf of the Crown, not the complainant. A criminal case is named along the lines of Rex/Regina or R. v Alex, not Bob v Alex.

Sometimes it may be difficult to proceed with prosecution if a complainant (or witness) decides not to cooperate or sometimes the CPS might decide not to prosecute because of the complainant's circumstances. But the CPS is allowed to prosecute without the complainant's approval or cooperation.

Under the Victims' Right to Review Scheme, in some circumstances a complainant can seek a review of a CPS decision not to prosecute or decision to stop a prosecution.

Answer 2

The idea of a victim pressing or dropping charges is largely a myth. It is true that the law may take the victim's wishes into account for minor offenses but neither the police nor the prosecution service need their permission.

It'd be a terrible thing if this was the case- you'd give every criminal the incentive to intimidate or silence their victim.

In this case the police would continue to investigate and would charge Alex with some kind of assault (depending on the exact nature of the attack). Given the nature of the crime, the prosecution service could likely secure a conviction without Bob.

Answer 3

Bob cannot drop charges, that's up to the police and the prosecutor.

What can happen though is that if Bob was the only witness, and without Bob's witness statement it is unlikely that Alex would be convicted, and Bob refuses to be a witness, then police and prosecutor may give up on trying to solve the case and convict Alex. On the other hand, if by chance there were two police officers in the restaurant who saw everything that happened and who are reliable witnesses for Alex's crime, then the prosecution will continue. A real case will be somewhere in between, so the prosecutor will decide what the chances of a conviction are.