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The criminal process

Getting help, reporting to the police, your rights as a victim, and what happens if a case goes to court, in plain English. Whether and when to report is your choice.

Before you read. This guide talks about crime and the justice system in general terms, without describing any abuse in detail. You can stop at any time. If reading it brings things up for you, you can talk to someone.

Every fact on this page comes from GOV.UK, the Crown Prosecution Service, the NHS, the Scottish and Northern Ireland governments’ websites, the prosecution services or the law itself (legislation.gov.uk). We last checked it on 6 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

The UK has three justice systems: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The steps are much the same, but some names and rules differ. Each section explains England and Wales first, then what is different in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.

Looking for a quick answer? Read our common questions about the police and court.

You don’t have to report to get help

You don’t have to report a sexual assault to the police if you don’t want to. You can still get medical care and support.

Sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) offer medical, practical and emotional support to anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted or abused, whatever their gender or age, and whenever it happened. They can arrange a forensic medical examination even if you haven’t decided whether to report, and can put you in touch with an independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA).

Find a sexual assault referral centre in England (NHS)

In Wales, NHS Wales runs its own SARCs. See how to access a SARC in Wales.

In Scotland, if you were raped or sexually assaulted in the last 7 days, you can refer yourself to the NHS sexual assault response co-ordination service (SARCS) without telling the police, by phone, 24 hours a day. If it happened longer ago, support is still there. NHS inform explains your options.

In Northern Ireland, The Rowan is the regional sexual assault referral centre. It helps children, young people, women and men, 24 hours a day, whether the abuse happened recently or in the past. You can contact it yourself or through the police. For adults, forensic evidence can be stored until you decide whether to report. The Rowan on nidirect.

Reporting to the police

Call 999 in an emergency. For crimes that are not an emergency, you can report online or call 101. Calls to 999 and 101 are free.

These numbers work in England and Wales, in Scotland (Police Scotland) and in Northern Ireland (the Police Service of Northern Ireland). If you’re in danger and can’t speak, see how to make a silent 999 call.

If it happened a long time ago

You can still report it.

England and Wales: the Crown Prosecution Service says there is no time limit on how long after the offence you can report a crime, and it treats these cases in the same way as any other. The offences someone can be charged with may be different.
Scotland: Police Scotland says there is no time limit for reporting a rape or sexual crime.
Northern Ireland: the Public Prosecution Service says anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse can come forward and report it to the police, no matter when it happened.

Giving your account

In England and Wales, the police may video-record their interview with a victim or witness who is vulnerable or intimidated, such as a child or the victim of a sexual offence. This is often called an ABE interview, after the government guidance the police follow, Achieving Best Evidence. If the court allows it, the recording can be played at a trial as your main evidence.

Northern Ireland has its own Achieving Best Evidence guidance. In Scotland, children are interviewed using the Scottish Child Interview Model. Our questions about ABE interviews explain more.

Your rights as a victim

England and Wales: the Victims’ Code

In England and Wales, the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the Victims’ Code) sets out 12 rights for victims of crime. They are the rights:

to be able to understand and to be understood
to have the details of the crime recorded without unjustified delay
to be provided with information when reporting the crime
to be referred to services that support victims and have services and support tailored to your needs
to be provided with information about compensation
to be provided with information about the investigation and prosecution
to make a Victim Personal Statement
to be given information about the trial, trial process and your role as a witness
to be given information about the outcome of the case and any appeals
to be paid expenses and have property returned
to be given information about the offender following a conviction
to make a complaint about your rights not being met

Read the Victims’ Code on GOV.UK

A Victim Personal Statement

A Victim Personal Statement (sometimes called an impact statement) lets you say how the crime has affected you: physically, mentally, emotionally or financially. In England and Wales you give it to the police, and you can make one at any time before the offender is sentenced. Tell the police if you’d like to read it out in court yourself, or have someone else read it. The court decides whether it is read out in part or in full.

Scotland

The Victims’ Code for Scotland sets out your rights. They include the right to information about your case, to take part (including telling the court how a crime has affected you), to protection, to support whether or not you report the crime, to compensation and expenses, and to complain.

If you’re a victim of a serious crime, you may be able to make a victim statement. It is normally given to the court after the accused pleads guilty or is found guilty, before the sentence is passed. mygov.scot explains victim statements.

Northern Ireland

The Victim Charter sets out how victims of crime should be treated and what advice, support and practical information they can receive.

A victim personal statement lets you say, in your own words, how a crime has affected or continues to affect you. It is considered when a case goes to court and the person pleads guilty or is found guilty. nidirect explains victim personal statements.

If the police or prosecutors decide not to go ahead

England and Wales. If the police or the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decide not to prosecute, or to stop a case, you can ask for that decision to be reviewed under the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme. Some conditions apply. For example, a police decision can be reviewed when a suspect has been identified and interviewed under caution.

Ask as soon as you can. The CPS asks for a request within 10 working days of its decision letter. It may accept a later request, but one made more than 3 months after you were told of the decision is unlikely to be accepted unless the circumstances are exceptional. To ask for a review of a police decision, contact the police force that made it.

Scotland. You can ask the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to review a decision, made on or after 1 July 2015, to take no action or to stop a case after it has gone to court. COPFS asks you to get in touch within one month of learning of its decision. COPFS: Victims’ Right to Review.

Northern Ireland. You can ask the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to review a decision not to prosecute. The request should be made in writing, normally within one month of being told of the decision. PPS: requesting a review.

Your anonymity

England and Wales, and Northern Ireland. If you are the victim of an alleged sexual offence, the law says that nothing likely to identify you as the victim can be published during your lifetime. In Northern Ireland, this protection also lasts for 25 years after the victim’s death.

You can give up this protection yourself by giving written consent, if you are 16 or over. A judge can lift it only in limited circumstances.

Scotland. There is not yet an automatic legal right to anonymity for complainers (the word used in Scotland for the person the crime was committed against) in sexual offence cases. In practice, the media follow a long-standing convention of not naming them, and a court can make an order in an individual case. A new law, the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, gives complainers an automatic lifelong right to anonymity, but that part is not in force yet.

If a case goes to court

Special measures in court

If you’re a victim of a sexual offence, or of another serious crime such as domestic abuse, you may be able to give evidence with ‘special measures’, such as a screen so the defendant can’t see you, a video link from somewhere else, or recording your evidence before the trial.

England and Wales. Victims of sexual offences, domestic abuse and modern slavery offences are eligible automatically, unless they tell the court they don’t want to be. Witnesses under 18 are eligible too. The judge or magistrates decide which measures you can have. They can include:

screens, so you don’t see the defendant
giving evidence by live link from another room
a video-recorded interview played as your main evidence
answering questions at a recorded hearing before the trial (in the Crown Court only)
giving evidence in private
judges and lawyers removing their wigs and gowns
an intermediary, or aids to help you communicate

The Witness Service, run by the charity Victim Support since 1 April 2026, can support you when you give evidence. Before the trial, you can visit the court with someone from the Witness Service, and they may be able to sit with you in the courtroom. The Witness Service explains how it can help, and GOV.UK explains more about going to court as a victim or witness.

Scotland. Children under 18 and complainers in sexual offence, domestic abuse, stalking and human trafficking cases are automatically entitled to standard special measures: a screen in the courtroom, a TV link from somewhere outside the courtroom, and a supporter who can sit with you while you give evidence. You can also apply for others, such as giving evidence before the trial to a commissioner, using a recorded police interview as your evidence, or closing the court to the public. mygov.scot: help and support for witnesses.

Northern Ireland. Complainants in sexual, domestic abuse, stalking, and slavery or trafficking cases are eligible automatically, unless they tell the court they don’t want to be (Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999, article 5). Special measures include screens, a live TV link, giving evidence in private, removing wigs and gowns in the Crown Court, a video-recorded interview admitted as your evidence, and a communicator. The judge decides which ones you can have. nidirect: witness services and special measures.

You don’t have to do this alone

If you’re thinking about compensation, our guides to criminal injuries compensation and civil claims explain the options.

Our guide to the people you might meet explains who does what if you report.

Where this information comes from

Checked on 6 October 2026. Rules and services can change, so check the official pages too.

Whatever you decide about reporting, the organisations in our Support Directory offer support.

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