Stolen bike - No Evidence Offered - Dismissed?
Discussion
My first post to piston heads. I've been lurking for a few weeks and this particular section of the forum is very good. It is interesting to read the personal opinions of serving police officers, I might not agree with all that is written but it helps to provide a more balanced view to the forum.
My brand new motorbike (8 days old) was stolen from an underground public car park in canary wharf about 2 years ago. A van on false plates drove into the car park (through the ANPR cameras) picked up my bike and drove off (so much for security in the Wharf!).
There was some CCTV footage of the van (and its false plates) but not much else. The van was parked to block the view of the CCTV cameras whilst my bike was loaded up and driven off. I gave up any hope of seeing it again. A few days later I got a call from the police and they have my bike, it was found in the back of the van which had been abandoned and reported suspicious by a member of the public.
It took a couple of days to get the bike back from the police, as it ended up in the pound but only the van was cataloged, not its contents as they hadn't completed the forensics. Getting it back from the pound was an experience in itself (the one off the A2). It is full of people trying to get their cars back for driving without insurance etc, so it is not the friendliest of places! I got the bike back with about £1k worth of damage (that I ended up paying for). The police woman at the pound was kind enough not to charge me the recovery fee. Having said that I did watch in pain, as the police officers trying to get it out of the back of the van dropped it in front of me, adding to the damage. I would have given them a hand, but they were the other side of the 12ft high security gate!
I never thought they would catch the people that nicked it, but about a year later I am asked to go into a central London police station to make a statement, which I do. The detective has pictures of the culprit they believe is responsible. They don't have a lot of evidence, but they did get a finger print from my rear light that matched the suspects. In addition the suspect was known to police to be involved in vehicle crime and there was evidence linking him to other thefts.
Things were really looking up, I had my bike back and the police had a suspect they were intending to prosecute.
Finally I get a letter from the "Victim and Witness Support Unit" to inform me that the "case has now been concluded", a court date was given and the result was "No Evidence Offered - Dismissed". That was it, no more details.
Any idea what this means? Presumably the CPS don't take a case to court, if there isn't any evidence, so does it mean that the defense was able to get the evidence dismissed? Does it mean the police officer did not show in court?
If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect be taken to court again for the same crime?
Clearly I don't know this individual was guilty, but based on the discussion with the detective, knowing the suspects name and having seen a picture of him, it is gutting to think he is still out there and if he was guilty, is probably likely to continue his life of crime. At least if the case and gone to court I would know if he was innocent or not. If he got off on some kind of technicality, that is very disappointing. I'm sure the officer involved in the case is just as frustrated.
My brand new motorbike (8 days old) was stolen from an underground public car park in canary wharf about 2 years ago. A van on false plates drove into the car park (through the ANPR cameras) picked up my bike and drove off (so much for security in the Wharf!).
There was some CCTV footage of the van (and its false plates) but not much else. The van was parked to block the view of the CCTV cameras whilst my bike was loaded up and driven off. I gave up any hope of seeing it again. A few days later I got a call from the police and they have my bike, it was found in the back of the van which had been abandoned and reported suspicious by a member of the public.
It took a couple of days to get the bike back from the police, as it ended up in the pound but only the van was cataloged, not its contents as they hadn't completed the forensics. Getting it back from the pound was an experience in itself (the one off the A2). It is full of people trying to get their cars back for driving without insurance etc, so it is not the friendliest of places! I got the bike back with about £1k worth of damage (that I ended up paying for). The police woman at the pound was kind enough not to charge me the recovery fee. Having said that I did watch in pain, as the police officers trying to get it out of the back of the van dropped it in front of me, adding to the damage. I would have given them a hand, but they were the other side of the 12ft high security gate!
I never thought they would catch the people that nicked it, but about a year later I am asked to go into a central London police station to make a statement, which I do. The detective has pictures of the culprit they believe is responsible. They don't have a lot of evidence, but they did get a finger print from my rear light that matched the suspects. In addition the suspect was known to police to be involved in vehicle crime and there was evidence linking him to other thefts.
Things were really looking up, I had my bike back and the police had a suspect they were intending to prosecute.
Finally I get a letter from the "Victim and Witness Support Unit" to inform me that the "case has now been concluded", a court date was given and the result was "No Evidence Offered - Dismissed". That was it, no more details.
Any idea what this means? Presumably the CPS don't take a case to court, if there isn't any evidence, so does it mean that the defense was able to get the evidence dismissed? Does it mean the police officer did not show in court?
If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect be taken to court again for the same crime?
Clearly I don't know this individual was guilty, but based on the discussion with the detective, knowing the suspects name and having seen a picture of him, it is gutting to think he is still out there and if he was guilty, is probably likely to continue his life of crime. At least if the case and gone to court I would know if he was innocent or not. If he got off on some kind of technicality, that is very disappointing. I'm sure the officer involved in the case is just as frustrated.
I will do, but in general in general why would a case go to court and evidence then not be offered? Is there a step in the process where the evidence is reviewed prior to the hearing but after the date for the hearing has been set? Under what grounds (again in general) would evidence be dismissed. I thought that would the purpose of the court, to decide on the reliability of the evidence.
And then to my second question. If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect still be taken to court for the original crime?
And then to my second question. If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect still be taken to court for the original crime?
reubenthebiker said:
I will do, but in general in general why would a case go to court and evidence then not be offered? Is there a step in the process where the evidence is reviewed prior to the hearing but after the date for the hearing has been set? Under what grounds (again in general) would evidence be dismissed. I thought that would the purpose of the court, to decide on the reliability of the evidence.
And then to my second question. If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect still be taken to court for the original crime?
Cases are constantly reviewed, there will be disclosure going backwards & forwards with the CPS position being reassessed in light of that. Was this the only offence he was being charged with or were there other cases grouped in with it ?And then to my second question. If a case is dismissed, is this the same as the suspect being found innocent? Or if the police are able to get more evidence can the suspect still be taken to court for the original crime?
The officer in the case is going to be in the best position to tell you exactly why this action was taken, we can only guess.
SLCZ3 said:
The court dismissed the case because there was no evidence offered by the CPS, so case dismissed, no evidence to back up the charge, no case to answer, that is not a not guilty or innocent finding.
My guess would be that the defence counsel went with a submission of no case to answer, i.e. the evidence provided (if any!) is/was not good enough to place their client at the scene and there are a hundred reasons why his print could have been on your bike - hell, he could have walked past it and stroked it as his car is in the car park etc.. (not likely I know). Therefore, the judge refused to proceed and SNCA was accepted.
time2react said:
Another tick to the CPS. They really know how to protect the criminals.
Why bring a case to court when they can place it in the to hard to do box.
Bit harsh - they have a job to do with limited resources. They need to prioritise and chasing every case no matter how flimsy the evidence would lead to accusations of wasting taxpayers money.Why bring a case to court when they can place it in the to hard to do box.
RtdRacer said:
time2react said:
Another tick to the CPS. They really know how to protect the criminals.
Why bring a case to court when they can place it in the to hard to do box.
Bit harsh - they have a job to do with limited resources. They need to prioritise and chasing every case no matter how flimsy the evidence would lead to accusations of wasting taxpayers money.Why bring a case to court when they can place it in the to hard to do box.
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff