How, when and what to report?
Reporting a crime, whether it happened online or offline, should be a similar process but there are a few things to consider which could be useful for you to know.
In an emergency (where there is a risk of serious harm) call the police on 999.
To report a non-emergency crime, call the police on 101 to report the crime. You will speak to a call handler who will take a few details of what has happened and an officer will return your call or arrange to speak with you.
You can also report the crime online via your police force website, if you're unsure of what force this is, you can search your town/city on the national website here police.uk. This website also has more details about reporting crimes to the police.
When a person reports a crime, the police must record it. They will usually give the victim a unique reference number for that crime. The offence will then be allocated to an investigating officer for them to make enquiries. Make sure you keep the reference, or crime number safe, it means you can add to your case easily if you get more information.
Evidence is crucial to any investigation. If at all possible try and make a timeline of the offence and then make sure images, texts, website addresses etc. are clearly shown on this. In most cases the police will need to take a written statement from you and having this written down will make the process simpler not only for the police but also for you. Sometimes it is easier and clearer for both the police and the CPS to do a video interview with you rather than a written statement.
There is no time limit on making a report. However, the longer someone waits to make that report the more potential is for evidence to be lost or the situation geting out of hand, so it is advised to report the crime as soon as possible.
When reporting any crime, the police will need specific information about that crime. Most services will need your name, address, date of birth, contact details. They will then need to know when the offence took place or the dates in between, as much detail about the offence as possible and with online crimes what services (i.e. Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram) or the website used.
Police services in the UK can only investigate and submit prosecution files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) when the offence has been committed in the UK. That means the suspect must also be in the UK and the offence took place in the UK and be in breach of UK law. However, if the perpetrator is abroad, then the police still have a duty to safeguard victims and provide advice around the crime. On some occasions, they may also be able to liaise with law enforcement services outside of the UK.
If the crime you wish to report did take place outside the UK, you can report this to the police force in the area where the perpetrator lives.
The Victim's Code (called the 'Victims Charter' in Ireland) gives you the right to information and support from criminal justice organisations such as the police and the courts.
Anyone who has been the victim of a crime has a right:
- To be treated with respect, dignity, sensitivity, compassion and courtesy
- Make informed choices that are fully respected
- Have your privacy rights under the law respected
- Be offered help so that you can understand the criminal justice process without discrimination of any kind
Find more information on these links:
The Victims Code for England and Wales
Victims of violent crime who have sustained physical or mental injury can apply for financial compensation. The rules of the scheme are set out by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and payment is calculated by a tariff of injuries.
Find more information on Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme here: