Sexual Assault Referral Centres

If you have reported the incident to the police, the investigation at first may move quite quickly. After the samples have been taken, you will be asked to provide your account of the incident – this is your evidence.

You can choose to give a written statement or speak to an officer in a video recorded interview. The pros and cons of both options will be explained to you to help you make a decision. You will be provided with the support of a dedicated Sexual Offence Liaison Officer (SOLO) who will often be your main point of contact throughout the duration of the investigation. Your SOLO will offer you a referral to external support services who are specialists in supporting victims of sexual violence.

The suspect may be arrested during this initial phase of the investigation and more detail about action taken against them can be found below.

Depending on where the incident happened, it is likely that this will be searched by police and forensic investigators. If this is your home, we will try to complete the searches as quickly and discreetly as we can.  

Every investigation is different but often, it can feel like things slow down after this initial phase. The investigating officer will be conducting a thorough investigation and gathering evidence. This will involve carrying out enquiries such as taking witness statements, speaking with people who live near where the incident happened, reviewing digital evidence and CCTV and submitting forensic samples for testing.

The officer will also likely be sending reports at various points to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The decision on whether there is enough evidence to charge the suspect has to be made by the CPS.

The investigation process can take some time, but please be reassured, your case is important to us and will try our best to conduct it as expeditiously as we can. The Officer in Charge (OIC) or your dedicated SOLO will keep you regularly updated throughout the course of the investigation.  They will agree how often and by what means you would like contact.  They may have to ask you further questions based on information obtained through their enquiries.

If you have reported the incident to the police, then once samples are taken at the SARC, they belong to the police. We may then send them to a laboratory for analysis as part of the investigation.

Any analysis of samples from the SARC medical will then come through the police.

Your SOLO will be able to give you the results of the medical examination and any analysis when we have them.

Samples will not always be submitted for analysis. For example, if the suspect is interviewed after the medical has taken place and agrees that the incident occurred, we do not need the samples to be tested to prove this.

If photographs or documentation of injuries are taken at the SARC for, any evidence will be provided to the police by the nurse or doctor. It is likely you will be made aware of any injuries found and documented during the medical process so you will already be aware of this.

If you are referred by the SARC to another organisation for further health checks or treatment. You will receive any results of further testing directly from that organisation or the NHS.

There may be some scenarios where the results need to be kept from you by the police for a period of time. For example, if you haven’t yet provided your first account as a written statement or video recorded interview. This is to make sure it can’t be argued in court that you gave details in your first account because you knew the results of the forensic tests.

During the investigation, the officer might ask to download evidence from your mobile phone if they believe there will be information on there that is relevant to the investigation.

If your phone needs to be taken into Police possession to do this, we aim to make sure we have your phone for no more than 24 hours and will only request information which is relevant. We realise that being without a mobile phone is very inconvenient and we will do our best to minimise any time you spend without yours.

The suspect may be arrested during the initial phase of the investigation and they will provide their account of the incident in an interview. Forensic evidence may also be taken from them and digital evidence such as on their mobile phone.

In some circumstances, we may try to obtain a charging decision while the suspect is in custody and seek to remand them. In the majority of cases, the suspect will be released on bail while further enquiries are carried out. If this happens, we will try to place conditions on their bail to prevent them from making contact with you.

Once we have finished gathering evidence for the investigation, there are several possible outcomes. The police will follow all reasonable lines of enquiry to try and get enough evidence to refer the case to CPS, unfortunately this isn’t always possible, despite our best efforts.  Or, the Police may send the case to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as they believe there is enough evidence to charge the suspect.  The CPS may ask for some further enquiries to be completed, or they may make the decision that the suspect should be charged, or they may decide that there isn’t enough evidence and no further action is to be taken.

Whatever the decision, it will be explained to you fully. If no further action is taken, you will have the option to appeal the decision under the terms of the Victims Right to Review Scheme (VRR). If the suspect is charged, the case will be sent to the court system and various dates will then be set in preparation for the trial.

If the suspect is charged, they are then referred to as the “defendant”.  If the defendant pleads “guilty”, you will not be required to provide evidence at court and the defendant will be sentenced, usually on a different date.  If the defendant pleads “not-guilty”, the case will proceed to a trial.

As the trial approaches, you will be offered a pre-trial visit to familiarise yourself with the court to hopefully reduce your anxiety about the process a little. You will be kept updated by our dedicated Witness Care Officer, who specialises in rape and sexual offence cases, regarding dates and times and they will try to help with any transport issues.

In the court building, on the day you can sit in an area away from the main reception and court rooms where you can wait until you are required to give your evidence. There are several processes in place that can be used, called “special measures”, to support you in giving the best evidence you can. 

These include giving evidence via a live video stream from a separate room in the building, pre-recording the cross-examination of your evidence by the defence lawyer before the trial itself and the use of screens in the court room to shield you from the defendant and the public gallery. The Judge has to grant these special measures. You may also have the support of your dedicated SOLO or Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) during your time at court.  You will be updated by your SOLO at key points during the trial.

Yes, you can report a rape or sexual offence at any time, no matter whether or not you went to a SARC.

If you attended a SARC they can hold your samples for up to two years, but even if it is after this time you can still report the incident.

You can report a rape or sexual assault at any time using the online form, designed by survivors or by calling 101