Investigation times
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Wondering if anyone can help me understand what to expect. We got the knock yesterday, house was searched for devices, partners phone and other devices were seized etc. he wasn't arrested as the triage they did at the house with his phone and computer came back with nothing.
does anyone know how long it will take for us to hear anything from them regarding the devices they took? I'm so scared and confused about the whole situation and have trouble coping well when I don't know what's going on.
does anyone know how long it will take for us to hear anything from them regarding the devices they took? I'm so scared and confused about the whole situation and have trouble coping well when I don't know what's going on.
I'm afraid it will probably be a while before you hear anything. It varies around the country, but will likely take between 6 months and 2 years for the police to examine devices.
They do not normally communicate with you while this is going on, but some are better than others.
They do not normally communicate with you while this is going on, but some are better than others.
It does seem to vary greatly around the country. Got the Knock in August 2023 and the police took a lot of stuff from the house. I think it was about 15 individual pieces of equipment. The police finished the investigation in February 2024 and was charged in June 2024 with obscene publication. Less than a year in total which I think is quite quick considering how long some people have been waiting.
Hi,
As Edel says you are probably in for a long wait. The Police probably turned up at your address as they have intelligence of illegal activity from your IP address but they need to see exactly what's happened. Although nothing was found in their initial search, in-depth forensic searches are done by outside companies who are experts and have all the equipment etc to look through every device. Someone might have downloaded something but deleted it which the Police wouldn't necessarily "see " but the forensic team would. Unfortunately it can take many months sometimes more depending on area for this work to be completed. Until it's done, you're unlikely to be told much. I stress that what I've said is what happens under "regular" conditions/circumstances. Wishing you all the best. X
As Edel says you are probably in for a long wait. The Police probably turned up at your address as they have intelligence of illegal activity from your IP address but they need to see exactly what's happened. Although nothing was found in their initial search, in-depth forensic searches are done by outside companies who are experts and have all the equipment etc to look through every device. Someone might have downloaded something but deleted it which the Police wouldn't necessarily "see " but the forensic team would. Unfortunately it can take many months sometimes more depending on area for this work to be completed. Until it's done, you're unlikely to be told much. I stress that what I've said is what happens under "regular" conditions/circumstances. Wishing you all the best. X
Thank you for the replies so far. I just feel so alone at the moment. I have no one I can talk to about it because I don't want anyone to think badly of my person if it turns out they haven't done anything. Once something like this is shared it's hard for people to let it go regardless of the outcome of innocent. I know that's probably naive of me after reading through the forums it seems like a lot of them deny it regardless.
im just scared. I gave up the security of my flat to move in with him last year and now I worry I'll end up with nothing and on the streets with my animals if it ends badly like it has for so many people on here :(
im just scared. I gave up the security of my flat to move in with him last year and now I worry I'll end up with nothing and on the streets with my animals if it ends badly like it has for so many people on here :(
We have literally just had one of the seized devices returned today, the knock was 7 months ago and this was the item they said that they would fast track, so who knows how long for the other items which are just being done as routine.
For us it took 9 months - the only device with anything on was his phone but they keep moving the goal posts as to when we will get the rest of the devices back.
We are in the South East and I think it's been quite quick in comparison to others experiences on here xx
We are in the South East and I think it's been quite quick in comparison to others experiences on here xx
lostinthewoods - if the police are deliberatly failing to return devices that are no longer relavent to the investigation then you can instruct a solicitor to take them to court under the police property act to order there return. I've also read of someone who tried to get their property back after an investigation was dropped but was continually fobbed off, eventually he contacted the police and reported it as stolen, unsuprisingly it was returned the next day.
If emails to the OIC are not getting your items returned the next step would probably be a formal complaint
If emails to the OIC are not getting your items returned the next step would probably be a formal complaint
Do any of you happen to know about other cases where the person wasn't arrested initially? I'm struggling to find anything similar. I'm assuming wait times for devices to be checked are going to be similar regardless of an arrest being made or not, right?
26a20
At 2nd interview he was told we could have devices back once charged. He asked on Monday and was told it'll be after the plea hearing.
His OiC is quite unpleasant and was even more objectionable on Monday, letting a door swing shut in OH's face and just being generally obnoxious.
I can only put it down to the fact that the OIC is disappointed that he hasn't picked up a prolific offender, and that they were expecting far more offending than they got. Seems he takes pleasure in making our lives hell. And his toupe is shocking too....
But we have mentioned it to the solicitor - hopefully when he's not too busy he will find time to help..........
At 2nd interview he was told we could have devices back once charged. He asked on Monday and was told it'll be after the plea hearing.
His OiC is quite unpleasant and was even more objectionable on Monday, letting a door swing shut in OH's face and just being generally obnoxious.
I can only put it down to the fact that the OIC is disappointed that he hasn't picked up a prolific offender, and that they were expecting far more offending than they got. Seems he takes pleasure in making our lives hell. And his toupe is shocking too....
But we have mentioned it to the solicitor - hopefully when he's not too busy he will find time to help..........
I hear you. I ended up homeless with my child. Feel free to message me. X
26a20
I lost thousands of pounds worth of equipment that belonged to my family, including all my family photos because the Police wouldn't return them. There were 3 pieces of equipment that was ordered to be destroyed that the offending took place on. The rest, the Police sent me a letter saying I needed to pay the outsourcing company £70 per hour (8 years ago) to go through each item. It would have cost more than the thousands the equipment was worth, so we lost the lot! Subsequently I emailed them asking what happened to my belongings. I was told they were broken down by the them and used a spare parts for their computer equipment. I was staggered. It was such a huge injustice and I'm still p***ed about it to this day.
I lost thousands of pounds worth of equipment that belonged to my family, including all my family photos because the Police wouldn't return them. There were 3 pieces of equipment that was ordered to be destroyed that the offending took place on. The rest, the Police sent me a letter saying I needed to pay the outsourcing company £70 per hour (8 years ago) to go through each item. It would have cost more than the thousands the equipment was worth, so we lost the lot! Subsequently I emailed them asking what happened to my belongings. I was told they were broken down by the them and used a spare parts for their computer equipment. I was staggered. It was such a huge injustice and I'm still p***ed about it to this day.
LittleRobin – I remember you mentioning all the devices you lost when we have talked about getting devices returned in the past. It’s understandable that devices that have indecent material on them won’t be returned though really it should be easy enough for the forensic specialist to wipe any illegal material from a device, after all it’s the data that’s relevant to the case not the physical phone, laptop etc.
One of our items seized was a shared PC which resulted in me loosing all the work I had done as a student and for my newly qualified portfolio at work, fortunately I had just had my portfolio signed off a few weeks before the knock but if I hadn’t I would have been totally screwed.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) make it very clear that seized property can only be held whilst it is relevant to the investigation or as evidence for a trial. The way I read that is that as soon as a device has been found to contain nothing related to the investigation the police have no legal basis for holding on to it and should return it as soon as possible, providing of course that the item isn't illegal to posess in the first place. In fact the PACE code of practice suggests that owners of seized property should be informed of their right to get the property retuned including by making applications to court under the Police property Act.
One of our items seized was a shared PC which resulted in me loosing all the work I had done as a student and for my newly qualified portfolio at work, fortunately I had just had my portfolio signed off a few weeks before the knock but if I hadn’t I would have been totally screwed.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) make it very clear that seized property can only be held whilst it is relevant to the investigation or as evidence for a trial. The way I read that is that as soon as a device has been found to contain nothing related to the investigation the police have no legal basis for holding on to it and should return it as soon as possible, providing of course that the item isn't illegal to posess in the first place. In fact the PACE code of practice suggests that owners of seized property should be informed of their right to get the property retuned including by making applications to court under the Police property Act.