We were assaulted - do I need to get a solicitor?

GobbledyGook

boots_babe wrote: »

Please can I ask that people actually read all of my posts? Nothing I've said is contradicting at all, please read them through properly as nowhere am I changing my 'story'. I've just said what happened.

At no point have I said that WE were in the police station. We've not been to one at all, not even now. The police were on the scene, we didn't call them, they just appeared so we obviously spoke to them.

I'm not sure what you mean when you say 'she happened to be there also'? We were at the scene of the attack still, so of course we were there and so were the people that did it. That's where we stayed whilst talking to the police and seeing the medical people.

I do agree it seems wrong in hindsight that the police were 'favouring' the option of an apology. Especially there and then when the people in question were still drunk.

But I don't have the energy to even consider pursuing anything with the police; yes it seems poor and yes I think it was bad advice. But I suppose to them it was just another incident; to us it's been horrendous and unthinkable, but to the police they have probably seen far far worse. It's not as though we were stabbed or have head injuries or anything so they probably view it relatively speaking as minor.

But as I say we DO definitely want to ensure we do whatever we can, to try to ensure the people that did it are punished. If nothing else, to hopefully make them think twice about doing it again to someone else. Surely you can't just do that to someone and get away scot free, that would just be plain wrong.

Nothing is going to make things up to us now - not an apology, certainly not money, so the only thing we can do is ensure they are brought to justice. This is why I was asking whether we need a solicitor - but it seems the consensus is that we don't.

I will definitely get in touch with Victim Support as I think they sound best placed to help with this. I will post back as to what happens, but at the moment it sounds as though nothing will happen particularly soon.

Good luck.

VS will also help you work through the emotional aftermath. Don't underestimate it and take the help they can give.

trevorsminted

Ok boots_babe apology from me VI8 put me off track I hope you do get some sort of justice unfortunately the British type is not that good not for victims anyway!

growler834

boots_babe wrote: »

I've said this because it is what happened. When we were given the options on Saturday, because I was still upset and was unsure, the police said they would call us on Wednesday to confirm what we wanted to do.

They initially told us that they had arrested them and would take them straight back to the police station. But later in the night whilst we were still there, they said they had sent them home and instead would call them back on Wednesday for questioning.

The police didn't call us on Wed as promised but did call today. They've interviewed the people and have said they will now have something on their criminal record, but wanted a decision from us as to whether we would press charges or not.

Until they police rang today, they didn't know I'd broken my ribs - as I didn't know this on the night. the ambulance people examined us and sent us home on the night. It was only afterwards that as the pain got worse I found out about the ribs, so have told the police this today which they then advised made it a more 'serious incident' whatever that means.

Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology, but when I said about 'taking things further', I was referring to the decision we had to make about whether to press charges or not. Which we are definitely doing.

Playing devil's advocate - the OP's initial post didn't give a full picture of the situation but the above makes more sense now. As I understand it - the incident occurred on Saturday, was reported to Police who arrested the defendants. They then released them home & spoke to the OP later in the week. I think in that case the Police bailed the defendants to return to the Police Station when the officers had collected more evidence. As the Police were initially unaware of the severity of the injuries they may have considered that the offence committed was a Sec 47 Assault, however now you have told them your injuries are more serious they will deal with the offence as a GBH (Grievous Bodily Harm) and it will be up to CPS to decide on the next step (charges & court).
The Police may not have dealt with the incident as well as they should or it may have been they were unaware of the full severity of the assault at the time - it would also be helpful to know what led up to the event to understand the incident in context as the Police may have thought both parties were to some extent to blame. As I said, I'm just playing devil's advocate.

trevorsminted

I once got slated on here which was nothing to do with the subject for my lack of punctuation so I never ever use and not a full stop nor a comma and always have one big sentence owing to that comment and I am not young ;-)

trevorsminted

oh and also I applied an exclamation mark when not appropriate so since then I also if I remember add one at the end of the sentence as opposed to a full stop!!! or something three

CH27

VI8 wrote: »

I actually want to be a crown prosecution lawyer and picking holes in a statement is what I'm good at. I've picked out all the inconsistencies in the IP's story and it doesn't add up. There is lies in there and if you take a look at it, you will see the inconsistencies.

There is a lovely poster on here who is a barrister.
She would never be as aggressive towards another poster as you are being.
Not everything is black & white. Victims can be in shock.
An attitude like you have puts people off the law & reporting crime.

wannabe_sybil

OP - you must be very shaken. I think Sailor Sam has a very good take on it. Getting someone to go through what is happening step by step will be really helpful for you and anything that takes the unknown out of this has to be a good thing. I hope you feel better soon.

VI8 - over a decade ago I worked in the Court service, just one step up above filing. However I worked there for some time and I can assure you that just because something is supposed to go a particular way doesn't mean it actually goes that way. People are people and make mistakes or try and work stuff out or even just try and avoid the paperwork.

Personally I didn't realise you were not native English. Being a bit slapdash with grammar (and many native English speakers are slapdash with grammar) isn't helpful but isn't fatal. Being overconfident with a judge and making assumptions will get you eaten alive.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

VI8 the forum has mods for a reason, if they think someone is being racial the post would disappear within a matter of mins of being reported to them.


You could request the IP and email form the webmaster but you'll find you'll be declined they wont release that info to a private person, they will if police request it in the course of an investigation.


I didn't find the comment to be racist, I did find that it broke forum rules for pulling up on spelling and such. repeated infractions form a forum member about pulling up on spelling can lead to being PPR'D if warning are not adhered to.


I do find that your posts are rather immature, its bold to call someone a liar.


If they admitted to the crime, then odds on their going to enter a guilty plea at the mags so hopefully OP will not have to testify, so really no need for half of your spout about how defense will tear it apart etc is rather too early to comment on.


I would also suggest that you spend more time in reality of how police deal with things and get your head out the clouds on how you think they will operate because its in a book.

Yorkie1

VI8 wrote: »

I actually want to be a crown prosecution lawyer and picking holes in a statement is what I'm good at. I've picked out all the inconsistencies in the IP's story and it doesn't add up. There is lies in there and if you take a look at it, you will see the inconsistencies.

VI8 wrote: »

You have contradicted yourself. You say you want to take things further and then go on to say they have been interviewed and admitted the crime. This is a contradiction, because for them to be interviewed, you would have had to have made an official complaint and given statements in order for them to be interviewed. You have taken this further. This alone is a contradiction in your story and if it isn't, please explain how?

Once you have experience in the criminal justice system as opposed just from textbooks, you will find out that things do not always happen in the way you presume.

As another poster has said, police can and will interview upon a verbal complaint, particularly where an assault has been committed, and then bail pending further investigations e.g. into severity of injury.

Secondly, just because you have learnt the text book, doesn't mean that others will use the same language. growler's post (I think it was) is right.

By the way, it isn't "aggravated assault". It's "grievous bodily harm (with intent)", contrary to s.20 (or s.18) OAPA 1861. Nobody in the criminal justice system uses the phrase "aggravated assault" as it is not set out in statute or common law.

Next, your approach of setting out to destroy the complainant's case is not how prosecutors deal with review of cases. See the legal guidance issued recently on Child Sexual Abuse and also on Rape whereby prosecutors consider the credibility of the allegation as a whole and not the credibility of the victim. In any event, the OP has said that the Defendant has admitted the offence - providing corroboration for her allegation.

I can categorically, without any shadow of doubt, tell you that if you approached an application for the CPS in the way you have shredded the OP on here, you would not succeed.

VI8 wrote: »

Whatever people here think of me, I should never be victimised by my use of the English language. That is racism and should never be tolerated. I am deeply offended by being victimised this way and will report that comment made by Thorsoak to the police. Whether you are on the internet or in person racism is something you should never resort to in order to try insult someone. I will report you now Thorsoak for using a racial slur under the malicious communications act.

What rubbish.

Your grammar was commented upon, nothing more, in the context of you insisting that 100% accuracy was essential before someone can be taken seriously or treated with credibility. You want to become a lawyer. Your postings were considered solely in that context.

None of us had any idea of your background until you cried 'racist'. You need to remove that chip from your shoulder pronto and save it for when it really matters, as opposed to a way to try to shut others up when under pressure.

Furthermore, your resort to a complaint under s.1 of the MCA is wholly unfounded. Aside from the fact that s.127 Communications Act 2003 would probably be more appropriate for the medium, s.1 requires the sending of a communication which is, on an objective reading, grossly offensive and with an intention to cause distress or anxiety to you. There is no evidence to justify such a complaint - either of the actus reus or the mens rea (seeing as how you like to spout legalese), as you would appreciate if you took a step back.

dktreesea

OP, I can understand why the police may not even want to put this to the CPS, even though the perpetrators have, according to the police, said they were guilty. They were very drunk, so presumably not in control of their senses. That undermines the "with intent" part of any assault charge. The police encountered you all in a public place. I would imagine they very much wanted to defuse the situation.

You are claiming the attack was premeditated, but the police, encountering your very drunk (as per your earlier post) assailants may have wondered if they were even capable of "premeditated" anything.

What the police heard from some of the witnesses - there may have been more than the ones you mentioned - may have led them to believe the attack was provoked. Indeed, if they have since spoken to your assailants, i.e. once they had sobered up, and found out there was some history between you and them, even if it just pertained to events surrounding that night prior to the assault occurring, they may have regarded you as partly responsible for the subsequent assault.