What is Victim's Right to Review?
Victims have the right to request a review of a decision not to prosecute through the Victims' Right to Review (VRR) Scheme. This can therefore be a useful tool to challenge decisions not to charge and prosecute in hate crime cases. The decision not to progress to charge / prosecution will then be reviewed.
To improve the service for victims of crime, the government introduced the Victims’ Right to Review scheme in 2013. The Victims’ Right to Review Scheme allows victims to seek a review of a police or CPS decision not to bring charges or to end all proceedings. It applies to CPS decisions made on or after 5th June 2013 (CPS, 2016) and applies to police decisions made on or after 1st April 2015 (Association of Chief Police Officers, 2015).
Requests must be made within 3 months of being notified about the decision not to charge or discontinue proceedings.
What are the situations when victim’s right to review cannot be made?
In the following scenarios, a victim’s right to review cannot be requested:
- Cases where no suspect was identified or interviewed.
- Cases where charges are brought against some, but not all, suspects.
- Cases where the charge brought differs from the original recorded offence.
How to request a ‘Victim’s Right to Review’
You can make your request by writing, calling, or emailing the police force once you have been informed about a police / cps decision. The police should write to you informing you of their decision not to charge within 5 working days of making the decision. If you are a victim of domestic violence and/ or most sexual offences, they should inform you within 1 working day.
Each local police area has their own Victim’s Right to Review Scheme. You can find the details of this online or by asking the officer dealing with your case. When contacting them you should include:
* your name
* your date of birth
* any reference number the police have provided
* contact details for how you want the police to contact you.
What can I expect the police to do?
There are a number of possible outcomes to the review. These are:
* The original decision is upheld.
* The original decision is overturned and the suspect is required to go to court.
* The original decision is overturned and the suspect is dealt with by way of an out of court disposal, for example a caution.
* The original decision is overturned and the case is referred to the CPS for them to make a decision.
* The officer recommends that further enquiries are completed before they make a decision.
* The original decision is overturned but it is not possible to take the case to court for another reason, for example it has been too long since the offence happened.
If victims are not happy with the outcome (including about a decision that does not qualify), a complaint can be made to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
