Frequently Asked Questions
ISVA FAQ’s: Reporting To The Police
Reporting to the police after experiencing sexual violence can feel daunting and uncertain. This guide, developed in partnership with our Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), walks you through what to expect when making a report — from your first contact with the police to the stages of an investigation and beyond. It’s designed to help you feel informed, supported, and empowered throughout the process, so you can make the decisions that feel right for you, at your own pace.
Contents:
- Section 1 – Your Choice
- Section 2 – Reporting Options
- Section 3 – Overview of the Criminal Justice Process
- Section 4 – Impact of reporting
Section 1 – Your Choice
We understand that it can be overwhelming time to think about what to do, we hope that this will help you make a decision that is best for you. You may be having chats with family, friends or people supporting you who maybe giving you advice on what to do next. While this can be helpful, we want to remind you that you are the most important person in all of this and whatever you choose to do is the right thing. The responsibility that you have now is to yourself and making sure that whatever action you choose to take supports and helps your recovery.
We know that reporting to the Police can be a really scary thing to do, and it is your choice whether it is the best action for you to take. If you do choose to do this, there are options about how to do this below. We want to remind you if at any point in the Police Process you feel like this is not the best course of action for you, you have every right to withdraw your support. This will mean that you will no longer be involved in the case, and you will not be expected to go to Court. This may not stop the case, as in some instances the Police choose to go forward with a ‘victimless prosecutions due to the case being seen as in the public interest, however this is very rare.
Section 2 – Reporting Options
There are a few different options available to you when looking at how to report, if you decide you’d like to.
By Phonetoggle accordion content
You can call 101 and make a report over the phone to a police call handler who will take some basic details of what happened and your information to pass this on to an officer who will be in touch to arrange taking a more detailed statement from you. As 101 is not the emergency number, you may be on hold for a while before speaking to someone, depending on how busy they are.
In Persontoggle accordion content
You can go to your local police station and ask to speak to a police officer about making a report there. Again, there may be some waiting around as it depends on who is available to come and talk to you at that time.
Onlinetoggle accordion content
You can make a report online where you fill out your information and some basic details of what happened, and someone will be in touch to follow up and get some more information from you, if you choose to give your details. You can also choose to report online but not share your details, so it is anonymous (similar to third party reporting – see below). The link to the Sussex Police reporting form is below. They advise it can take about 20-30 minutes to complete it.
https://www.sussex.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/v1/rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
Third-Party Reporttoggle accordion content
A third-party report is an anonymous report to the police where you can complete an online form on the Sussex Police website. This is a similar process to reporting online however you should avoid adding your name or any other identifying information to make sure it is anonymous. This means there will not be an investigation into the offence, and you will not have any contact with the police, but they will be aware of what happened, and it will be logged on their system. Survivors’ Network also run a Reporting Options Drop in jointly with Sussex Police where you can choose to speak with an ISVA from Survivors’ Network or a Victim Contact Coordinator from Sussex Police about the options and process of making a report, including anonymously. You can find more information about this drop in on our website.
https://www.sussex.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/v1/rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
Informal chat with SOIT toggle accordion content
You can ask an ISVA to arrange an informal chat with a police officer who is specially trained in dealing with sexual offences. You do not have to share any details about yourself with them so they won’t be able to follow up with you, but it is an opportunity for you to ask any questions you might have about what happens when you make a full report to the police and what might happen in an investigation. There is no pressure for you to go on to make a full report, the meeting can be set up just to make sure you have all the information you need to make the decision that is right for you.
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There is also the option of not reporting to the police but reporting to an institution instead if there is a breach in a safeguarding responsibility they had towards you when the abuse took place. An example of an institution you can report to is the church or the local authority. You may decide to look at this option for various reasons including if the criminal justice process is not open to you because the perpetrator has died. Different institutions have different options available so you can ask an ISVA to talk through the options open to you for your specific situation. It is important to know reporting to an institution may not result in a criminal investigation, but there is a chance it will if there is a concern of ongoing risk.
Section 3: Overview of Criminal Justice Process
Timeframes of the Criminal Justice Process toggle accordion content
Not all cases that are reported to the police go to court and there are lots of stages the case needs to go through before it can get to that point. In criminal law, a case needs to be proved beyond all reasonable doubt to get a conviction in court, and the police and CPS need to see there is a reasonable prospect of conviction based on the evidence to be able to take it to court.
Below are very rough timeframes of how long a case can take to go through each stage of the process:
- Investigation – 9 months-1 year (can be much longer though)
- Police decision – 1-2 months
- CPS decision – 3-6 months
- Trial date – 1 year from charge
- Sentencing – straight away or around two months after guilty verdict
Total is around 3 years however this doesn’t take into account additional delays.
Case Closurestoggle accordion content
Most cases are closed because there is not enough evidence to reach the burden of proof however there are a few other reasons why a case might be closed:
- If the suspect can’t be identified or located
- If the suspect is abroad and there no grounds for extradition (to ask them to come back) then the case will be closed pending them coming back, which could take years if at all
- If the suspect has died or dies during the investigation
Offences that happened abroad toggle accordion content
You can report offences that happened abroad in same ways to Sussex Police like you would if it had happened here. Sussex Police will gather evidence and accounts here and then it will be transferred to the local police where offence happened. There can be differences in the process as different countries have different systems, but an ISVA can help you with understanding this.
Section 4: Impact of reporting
There are a few different impacts of reporting your case to the police that you might want to think about to help inform your decision.
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Other people such as friends and family may need to be interviewed by the police if they have any information. This means they would be made aware of the case and what happened to you (although they will not be given details).
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The suspect will be interviewed by the police and so will be aware you have made a report against them. If you have any concerns about your safety because of this, you can speak to the police or an ISVA about putting some things in place to help you feel safer, for example a non-molestation order or a marker on your phone and address.
Often, the suspect will not be arrested to brought in for an interview, but they will be contacted and asked to come in voluntarily. After the interview they may not be given any bail conditions, but they will be told they are not allowed to contact you directly or indirectly or that would be witness intimidation.
If you don’t know who the perpetrator is, for example if they are a stranger, or you only know their first name, you can still report to the police, and they will do their best to identify them. If they cannot identify them though, unfortunately the case will be closed. If the perpetrator has died, then unfortunately the police will not be able to investigate the case either as someone who is dead cannot be charged or stand trial as they are unable to defend themselves. Depending on the circumstances of the offence, there may be other options open to you for example reporting to an institution (see reporting options).
Anonymous reporting toggle accordion content
If you decide to report by doing a third-party report (anonymously) then usually the police won’t do anything further with the information you have given. Sometimes though, they will have a duty to investigate if they feel there is a safeguarding concern for example the suspect is currently working with children.
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The police, or Survivors Network, will not automatically get in touch with social services just because you have reported a crime. If social services are already involved, there is a chance they may contact them to make them aware and see how you can be supported best. If the police think there is a safeguarding issue though (involving you or your children) then they would have to let social services know if they are worried about you or your children’s safety.
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If during an investigation the police find out that you may have insecure immigration status, the police may share this information with Immigration Enforcement who will decide what to do. This can be worrying, but we think it’s important to tell you about the possibility, so you can make an informed choice about what to do. If you are worried about this there are support services who can tell you about your rights and help you decide what to do.
Moving away toggle accordion content
If you move away from the area but still want to support the investigation this is absolutely fine. The police can still keep you informed throughout the process and be there to answer any questions you have. You can make a contact agreement with the police (and an ISVA) about the best ways to contact you.
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You can have counselling if you have an ongoing police investigation. If you have already been having therapy or are due to start, then once you have reported there will need to be something called pre-trial conditions put on the counselling sessions. This means you won’t be able to talk in lots of detail about what happened to you specifically and should try to focus more on the impact of it. Your counsellor will go through this with you. There is also a chance that the police may request your counselling notes as part of the investigation although it is your choice about whether you give consent for this.