Once the police makea report to the prosecutor’s office, how long does it usually take for them to decide if they are going to pursue the matter?
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Once the police makea report to the prosecutor’s office, how long does it usually take for them to decide if they are going to pursue the matter?
And if they to decide to persue the matter, what happens next?
Asked on August 17, 2011 Washington
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
When law enforcement makes a written report concerning an incident involving a stop or investigation of a complaint from a third party concerning an alleged criminal act, the custom and practice (as well as the law) for law enforcement is to write up a report and forward it to the district attorney's office for review and possible filing of criminal charges or not .
The time period from writing the report and sending the report to the prosecution for review and decision for the filing of charges or not depends upon many factors such as: 1. whether or not additional investigation is needed; 2. staff and budget constraints; 3. prosecutorial discretion in deciding not to file charges.
A safe bet is that if charges are not filed within thirty (30) days after a report is sent to the district attorney's office, a complaint will not be filed.
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