Police

Generally, police have to have probable cause in order to arrest someone. As you may know, “probable cause” generally means that law enforcement officials must possess enough facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the claim against the accused is true. Therefore, if a victim wants her/his abuser to be charged with a crime, then generally speaking, it may be important for him/her to provide law enforcement with evidence of the crime if the police have not witnessed the criminal acts being committed. Evidence can sometimes be photos of injuries, a believable telling of what happened, any texts or emails that acknowledge the incident, any witnesses, any 911 calls or doctors’ reports, etc. And once someone is arrested, the prosecutor must believe that s/he can prove that the crime occurred “beyond a reasonable doubt.” If the prosecutor does not think that this is possible based on the available evidence, it’s possible that the prosecutor will not press criminal charges and the case will be dropped.