EP#221 | Why Didn’t Police Investigate? The Case That Exposed a Broken System

Sponsored by EasyDNS Move your domain or web hosting to EasyDNS and support Not On Record: https://easydns.com/NotOnRecord Use promo code: notonrecord

In Episode 222 of Not On Record, Joseph Neuberger and Diana Davison examine a question that clients ask repeatedly: “Why am I being charged when the police never investigated my side of the story?”

The discussion focuses on the distinction between taking a complainant’s statement and conducting a full, objective investigation.

Joseph and Diana walk through a real case in which the accused provided police with detailed information about the events, including potential witnesses, receipts, locations, CCTV footage, phone evidence, dash-cam footage and other information that could potentially confirm or contradict the allegations.

Yet many of those investigative avenues were not pursued.

The episode explores:

• What grounds police need before laying a criminal charge • Whether taking a complainant’s statement can constitute an “investigation” • Why police may not conduct follow-up interviews • The importance of CCTV and other time-sensitive digital evidence • What happens when police seize a phone but don’t promptly extract the evidence • How the defence can attempt to preserve and obtain evidence police haven’t collected • When third-party records, including medical records, may become relevant • Why an accused person’s request for police to investigate potentially exculpatory evidence matters • The role of Crown counsel in reassessing whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction • The consequences of failing to conduct an objective investigation • Why proper investigations ultimately protect both accused people and genuine victims