Criminal Charges / Crimes

Often times, when the police are not responding to reports of abuse, a victim may be able to work his/her way up the chain of command within the police precinct until someone takes the necessary action. The positions within the police hierarchy may be called different names depending on the state’s police force but often above a police officer is a sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and chief (again, there may be more positions inbetween those or they may be called something different depending where you are from). Keeping records of each person spoken to, the time/date, and what they say/do can be useful to try to make out a case that nothing is being done. Sometimes having a professional (an attorney or a victim advocate) with you who has regularly dealt with the local police can help because s/he might know a specific person to contact at the police department or the police may be more conscientious about doing their jobs if there is a professional involved. Here is a link to lawyers in STATE so that you can reach out and try to get help in approaching the police or in getting advice as to whether or not you may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against the perpetrators for money damages if you choose to do so: LINK

Also, often times when the police are not acting on a criminal complaint, a person may be able to go directly to the prosecutor’s office. As you may know, the way that criminal cases usually work is this – when a person files a report with the police, they are supposed to pass whatever information they have along to the prosecutor’s office when they have probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. (Depending on your area, the prosecutor may be called the “district attorney” or the “county attorney.”) The prosecutor’s office then decides if there’s enough evidence to bring the case in front of a judge and prosecute. Sometimes, when a criminal case isn’t going forward, it’s because the police aren’t passing the information along to the prosecutors, or they’re not passing the right information along. Sometimes, the prosecutor’s office is choosing not to go forward – for example, they might believe there’s not enough evidence to move forward. Sometimes if a victim speaks to the prosecutor and shows the evidence that s/he has along with the records of police inaction, s/he can see if the prosecutor may be willing to get involved. Another possible similar outlet may be going to the US Attorney’s office or the attorney general of that state if a person feels that the prosecutor is failing to reasonably act. You may want to get legal advice on whether either of these legal offices may be appropriate to go to in your state and based on your situation.