Getting the Police Involved

Will the police always lay assault charges?

No. The police have some leeway whether to lay a charge. In cases of family violence the police should lay charges where there are reasonable grounds to believe that there has been an assault.

The police can lay charges even if you do not want them to.

If the police do not lay charges and you think that they should, you can speak to the senior officer in charge.

If the police do not lay an assault charge, you can lay one. You must go to the court office and ask to see a Justice of the Peace (JP). If you have not already talked to the police, the JP may suggest you do so. The JP must, however, allow you to lay the charges if you want to. Usually it will only be necessary for you to lay charges in cases of common assault. In cases of other types of assault there will usually be enough evidence for the police to lay the charge.

Police Involvement - Continued: What will the police do? What is an assault charge? Can you withdraw charges after they are laid? What type of sentence will the offender get?

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