This summary guide is primarily for the Officer in the Case during a police investigation of child sexual abuse, to help them best communicate the investigation’s outcome to the child who may have been abused.
It is also relevant for other professionals involved with the child, to help them understand and explain what will happen at this stage of the criminal justice process to the child and their family.
How will the police make their decision?
After completing their investigation, the police decide whether to present the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
- Usually, the police will have completed one or more Achieving Best Evidence video recorded interviews with the child.
- They will have consulted the CPS during the investigation, including seeking Early Advice.
- If the case meets statutory tests for prosecution (sufficient evidence and public interest), it is passed to the CPS.
The CPS decides independently whether the case satisfies statutory tests for prosecution. The Officer in the Case should inform the child about the police decision, reasons behind it, and possible next steps.
How may the child be feeling?
The child is likely to feel a complex range of emotions:
- anxious about what will happen next
- worried about whether they are believed
- concerned about their safety.
Their anxiety will have risen if they have not received regular updates during the investigation.
If the case is sent to the CPS, realistic expectations about next steps can help the child cope emotionally.
“I really wanted to know what were going on, do you know what I mean, they’d left it for three months.”
“My police officer came round and told me, which I appreciated rather than just a letter or something.”
“It’s just the way [the police officer] were, innit, and then the way she told me that my case had been dropped. She did it over the phone. I was in college as well, it was so bad.”
“I wasn’t even warned of the time period [for the CPS to make its decision]. I asked [the police] and they were, like, ‘it could be up to two months’, that’s what they told me. If they warned me that it could have been over a year then I would have been aware of it and not so much worried the whole time.”
For the sources of the quotations above, please download our full guide to this stage of the Response Pathway.
If you are the Officer in the Case, your response to the child and their family should continue to be tailored to their individual characteristics and circumstances.
- Consider how the child’s personal characteristics might increase their vulnerability and shape their response to their abuse and to your investigation’s progress.
- Consider their communication needs in relation to their age, any disability or neurodivergence, language and other factor that may affect their understanding.
- Inform the child of the decision as soon as practicable, and in person unless they have said they do not want face-to-face visits.
- In the case of an older child, ask them whether they want their non-abusing parent(s) present. It is good practice to speak to a younger child in the presence of their non-abusing parent(s). If a parent is suspected of sexually abusing the child, or of being complicit in the abuse, they should not be present when you speak to the child.
- If the family has an allocated social worker and/or support from an independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA) or a child and young person’s sexual violence advocate (CYPSVA), you can ask them to be with you when you talk to the child – but remember that it is your responsibility to tell the child about the police decision and what will happen next.
If the police are sending the case to the CPS
- When you speak to the child and their non-abusing parent(s), clearly explain what has been done and what will happen next.
- Manage their expectations about timescales and outcomes.
- You may want to point out that, in a significant number of criminal investigations into child sexual abuse, the suspect(s) are not charged.
- While you are awaiting the CPS’s decision, maintain good communication with the child and their family.
If the police are not sending the case to the CPS
- Remember that the child has the right to be informed of a decision not to proceed with the case within one day of the decision being made.
- Tell the child and their non-abusing parent(s) clearly why this decision has been made – whether it was on evidential, public interest or other grounds – and how they can get further information.
- Tell them that they have the right to seek a review of the police decision not to proceed.
- Point out to them that the criminal investigation can be reopened at any point if further evidence comes to light.
- Bear in mind that they may struggle to take in all the information, and may not know what to ask at the time of your visit.
- Leave them a written record of the decision, information on how to contact you, and what they can do if they are not happy with the decision.
- Ensure that they are told about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme – see below.
- Communicate the decision to other practitioners involved with the child.
- Consider using civil orders to restrict the activities of the suspect(s) in the case, even though they are not being charged.
- Support the child's emotional health, physical health, education, and relationships with their family and friends.
- Tell the child and family about the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS), which offers financial compensation for victims of violent crime (including sexual assault) that has been reported to the police – whether or not there has been a prosecution.
If you are the child/family’s social worker or ISVA/CYPSVA, the Officer in the Case may ask you to support them in communicating the police decision to the child and family.
External links
- The Victims’ Code [Ministry of Justice]
- Child exploitation disruption toolkit [Home Office] – contains information on civil orders
- Criminal injuries compensation: a guide [Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority]
- Prosecution guidance: Sexual offences and youths [Crown Prosecution Service] – relates to cases of harmful sexual behaviour