==Procedure in Vancouver: other places may differ==The procedure Typically, for charging someone to be charged with a criminal offence or making a report to crime, the police varies slightly from place to place in BC. This script describes must recommend charges and a prosecutor (called Crown counsel) must approve the procedure in Vancouvercharge. If you live elsewhere Learn what’s involved in BC, contact the Justice of the Peace at your local provincial courthouse or the local police station for the procedure thereprocess.

==What is Understand the purpose of the criminal justice system?legal framework==The main purpose of the criminal justice system is to bring to justice a person who has committed a criminal offence. It is not to compensate people financially for something wrong done to them. If someone owes you money but has not committed a crime, you should consider suing that person in Small Claims Court or in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

==Where do you start if you want someone to be charged with an offence?=The process in Vancouver (other places may differ)==='''File a police report'''—phone the local police station’s non-emergency line The process to see if you can make have someone charged with a report by phone, or whether you have to go criminal offence varies somewhat from place to the police stationplace in British Columbia. It normally depends on This information describes the crimeprocess in Vancouver. In either case, If you will file a police report with an officerlive elsewhere in BC, and possibly make a statement with contact your allegations. Make a note of the local courthouse or police officer's name and badge number and, if possible, for the police report number. An officer will investigate process in your case and report to youcommunity.

'''If ===The purpose of the officer thinks that criminal justice system===The main purpose of the criminal justice system is to bring to justice a person should be charged''', the officer will write who has committed a report criminal offence. It is not to compensate people financially for something wrong done to them. If someone owes you money but has not committed a '''prosecutor''' crime, you can consider suing that person in civil court. See our information on [[Suing Someone in Small Claims Court (also called '''Crown counsel'''Script 166) with the suggested charges|suing someone in Small Claims Court (no. Follow up on your report by contacting the officer who took the complaint if you want an update on it166)]].

'''If the officer thinks the person should NOT be charged'''===The process in a nutshell===You’ve seen someone commit a crime, or have other evidence they will tell you so, and they will not send committed a report crime. The first step to have someone charged with a prosecutor. If this happens and you disagree with the officer’s decision, you can ask criminal offence is to speak to the officer’s supervisor. Also, you can file '''make a complaint with either the Police Complaint Commissioner (discussed in script [[Complaints Against Municipal Police (Script 221)|221]]) or, if you are dealing with the RCMP, you can file a complaint with the Commission for Public Complaints (discussed in script [[Complaints Against the RCMP (Script 220)|220]])police report'''. You can also charge the person yourself, as explained belowThe police will investigate.

==What The police consider if there is enough evidence of a prosecutor and what do they do?==Prosecutors are lawyers employed by crime for them to recommend the government to prosecuteperson be charged. If so, or present, criminal cases in court. A prosecutor will review the police send a report and may charge the person with an offence. You may have to testify as a witness, where you will tell the court what you know, if the case goes to court. If you suffered financial loss, you may be able to get compensation, so you should give this information statements to the police or prosecutor. If you don’t hear whether the person has been charged, you can contact the police officer who took the report for a follow up(called '''Crown counsel''').

==What if the The prosecutor won’t charge reviews the person?=='''Talk with the prosecutor'''—if the police send a report to the prosecutor who then material and decides not whether to charge approve (or “lay”) charges against the person, you can call the prosecutor to see if they will speak with you. The BC ''[http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96478_01 Victims of Crime Act]'' gives victims of crime the right to know the reasons for a decision about charges. And the ''[http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-23.7/page-1.html Canadian Victims Bill of Rights]'' gives victims of crime the right, if they ask, to information about the status and outcome of the investigation into the crime.

Listen carefully to If the prosecutor because they are experts in police don’t recommend a criminal lawcharge or the Crown decides not to lay charges, there is another process available. If you have new Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe another person has committed a criminal offence may provide that information, to a '''justice of the prosecutor may send you back peace''' in order to have the police. In that case, what happens next will depend on what the police choose person brought to docourt. If you disagree with the police’s decision, you can follow the police complaint process described aboveThis is called laying a '''private information'''.

'''Charge the person yourself'''—if the police won’t investigate or the prosecutor won’t charge the person and you still disagree with their decisions, you can ask a Justice of the Peace (a JP) to charge the person based on a ''private information''. If the offence is ==The steps in the ''Criminal Code'', a JP has to accept the charge. Even if the JP accepts the charge, in a typical case, unless there is strong evidence of a criminal offence, the prosecutor will likely end it (or '''stay the prosecution''') because a prosecutor has to meet a higher standard to prove a charge than a JP needs to accept one. process==

If the prosecutor does not stay the charge, you still must convince ===Step 1. Reporting a provincial court judge crime to police===The first step to order the person have someone charged to attend court, and the judge can issue an arrest warrant or with a summons criminal offence is to do this. You must show the judge there is some evidence that the person committed each part of the crime (this is called a ''prima facie case''). If you do that, the prosecutor may ask the judge report a crime to adjourn or postpone the case (meaning delay it until they get more information) before issuing a warrant or a summons so the police can investigate the matter. After the police investigate, if the prosecutor decides there is strong evidence of a criminal offence, the prosecutor will take over. If the prosecutor decides the case lacks merit and stays it, you can call the Crown counsel office and speak to the prosecutor’s supervisor who can explain the reasons for their decision'''.

==Summary==The first step to getting someone charged with To report a criminal offence is to file a police reportcrime in progress, '''dial 9-1-1'''. If Otherwise, phone the local police decide non-emergency line to proceed, they will send see if you can make a report by phone, or whether you have to go to the prosecutor, who may charge the person with an offence after reading police station. It normally depends on the police report and witness statementscrime.

In either case, the police will ask you to describe what happened and to tell them any other information you know. You may be asked to “'''make a statement'''”. This is written or recorded version of what you say happened. If you make a written statement, you will be asked to sign your statement. Read it carefully and make sure it is correct before you sign.  An officer will investigate your report. This may involve, for example, examining the place where the crime occurred and talking to victims and witnesses. {| class="wikitable"|align="left"|'''Tip'''Make a note of the name of any police officer you talk with, and the police case or file number. This information will help you follow-up to learn the status of your report.|} ===Step 2. The police decide whether to recommend charges=== Once the police complete their investigation, they decide if there is enough evidence to recommend to '''Crown counsel''' that the person be charged. Crown counsel are lawyers employed by the government to '''prosecute''' (bring) criminal cases in court.  If the police decide to recommend charges, an officer will write a '''report to Crown counsel'''. The report will suggest criminal charges the police think are appropriate.  ====If the police do decide not to recommend charges====If the police decide the person should not be charged, they will tell you so, and they will not send a report to Crown counsel. If this happens and you disagree with the officer’s decision, you can ask to speak to the officer’s supervisor. Also, you can file a complaint with the body that oversees the police. See our information on [[Complaints Against the RCMP (Script 220)|complaints against the RCMP (no. 220)]] or [[Complaints Against Municipal Police (Script 221)|complaints against the municipal police (no. 221)]]. Alternatively, you can take steps to charge the person yourself. We explain how shortly.  ===Step 3. The Crown decides whether to approve charges===If the police recommend charges, '''Crown counsel''' will review the report from the police. The Crown will decide whether to approve (or “lay”) charges against the person. In making their decision, a Crown prosecutorwill consider:*Is there is a “substantial likelihood of conviction” based on the evidence in the report from the police? In other words, is there a strong, solid case to present in court?*If yes, is a prosecution required in the public interest? Crown counsel consider many factors in deciding this, including how serious the allegations are.  If Crown counsel decides to lay charges, the charges are set out in a document called an '''information'''.  ====If the prosecutor decides not to charge the person====If Crown counsel decides not to charge the person, you can contact the prosecutor’s office to discuss their refusal decision. Under the [https://www.canlii.org/en/bc/laws/stat/rsbc-1996-c-478/latest/rsbc-1996-c-478.html#sec6_smooth law in BC], a victim of crime has the right to know the reasons for a decision about charges. As well, under [https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/sc-2015-c-13-s-2/latest/sc-2015-c-13-s-2.html#sec7_smooth Canadian law] a victim of crime has the right, if they ask, to information about the status and outcome of the investigation into the crime. Listen carefully to the prosecutor. If you have new information, tell them. The prosecutor may send you back to do so with the police and file .  {| class="wikitable"|align="left"|'''Tip'''After reporting a complaint crime, if you still disagree. Ordon’t hear whether the person has been charged, you can try charging follow-up by contacting the police officer who took your report.|} ===Step 4. Laying a “private information” to charge the person yourself ===If the police don’t recommend a criminal charge or the Crown decides not to lay charges, there is another process available. Any person who has reasonable grounds to believe another person has committed a criminal offence may provide that information to a '''justice of the peace''' in order to have the person brought to court. This is called laying a '''private information'''. The justice of the peace is a court officer who deals with process matters. They will ask you to swear an oath or affirm the truth of the contents of the information.  If the offence is an '''indictable''' (serious) offence under the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vf2 Criminal Code]'', the justice of the peace has to refer the information to a judge to consider whether to have the person brought to court. ====The Crown considers the charges====The Crown reviews any private information received by a justice of the peace. The Crown considers whether their charge assessment standard has been met. They may refer the matter to police. If the Crown concludes there is not a “substantial likelihood of conviction”, they will direct a '''stay of proceedings''' (meaning the Crown won’t go ahead with prosecuting the charge).  ====Appearing before a Justice judge at a process hearing==== If the prosecutor does not stay the charge, the next step involves appearing before a judge at a '''process hearing'''. You must convince the judge to order the person charged to attend court. The judge can issue an arrest warrant or a summons to do this. You must show the judge there is some evidence the person committed each part of the Peacecrime (this is called a '''prima facie case'''). If you do that, the prosecutor may ask the judge to '''adjourn''' (postpone) the case so the police can investigate.  After the police investigate, if the prosecutor concludes there is a strong, solid case to present in court, the prosecutor will take over.  If the prosecutor decides the case isn’t strong enough and directs a stay of proceedings, you can call the Crown counsel office and ask to speak to the prosecutor’s supervisor to discuss their decision. ==Common questions== ===What happens if the person is charged with a crime?===If a criminal charge is approved, and the case goes to a trial, you may have to testify as a witness, where you will tell the court what you know. See our information on [[Being a Witness (Script 216)|being a witness (no. 216)]. If you suffered financial loss, you may be able to get compensation if the accused is found guilty. The judge can make a '''restitution order''', requiring the accused to pay money to someone who suffered a loss.