Guides / BC criminal process

Can the complainant drop the charges in BC?

No. Crown Counsel owns the charge in BC, and only Crown can stay or withdraw it. What the complainant wants counts for something, but it rarely ends a file on its own, particularly in a domestic case.

Here is how it plays out. Police lay the charge or recommend it, and Crown Counsel approves it under the BC Prosecution Service standard: a substantial likelihood of conviction, and a prosecution that serves the public interest (how charge approval works). After that the file belongs to the Crown. A complainant who phones the courthouse or tells the officer they want it over has said something worth hearing. They have not changed who decides.

Who decides whether the charge goes ahead?

The Crown prosecutor does, and the decision stays open as the file develops. When a complainant says they no longer want to proceed, a good prosecutor asks what else the case rests on. A 911 recording. Photographs of an injury taken by police. An officer who saw the complainant crying at the door. A neighbour who heard the shouting. If those exist, the Crown may carry on.

In intimate partner cases, BC Prosecution Service policy says the complainant's wishes alone cannot decide it, and the public interest will usually require a prosecution once the evidence meets the charging standard. The reasoning is plain. People in relationships change their minds for reasons that have little to do with whether the event happened: fear, money, children, pressure from family. Prosecutors know that, and they weigh a change of heart with it in mind.

I will concede the hard part. That policy means forgiveness does not protect you. But the Crown still has to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt (what that means in plain language), and a complainant who steps back makes that job harder. The question is not whether the complainant forgives you. It is whether the Crown can prove the case without them.

Timing matters too. A complainant who speaks to the Crown early, while the prosecutor is still setting a position on the file, is heard when it can change something. A complainant who says it on the morning of trial is heard after the Crown has built the case, prepared witnesses, and cleared a courtroom for it.

Can the Crown go ahead without the complainant?

Sometimes. A witness can be subpoenaed, and a witness who ignores a subpoena can be arrested on a warrant and brought to court. Once there, the complainant takes an oath and answers questions.

Picture a trial in Victoria provincial court. On the night of the incident the complainant gave police a detailed statement. On the stand they now say it was an argument, nobody was hit, and they overstated it to the officer. The Crown can ask the judge to rely on the earlier statement for its truth under the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in R. v. B. (K.G.). The judge looks at whether the statement was recorded, whether it was given under oath or a solemn warning, and whether the witness can be cross-examined on it. Many police statements do not meet that bar. Some do.

The 911 call has its own rules for coming in, and so do the officer's observations. If the earlier statement stays out and the complainant retracts, the Crown often has a thin case, and a thin case ends in a stay or an acquittal. If it goes in alongside photographs and a recording, the retraction still counts, but the judge has more to work with. Each file turns on what else exists.

What should I do while the case is open?

Say nothing to the complainant about the case. If they reach out, do not answer, and call your lawyer first. If the complainant wants to be heard, there is a proper door: the Crown prosecutor, and the victim services workers attached to the court and the police. Your lawyer cannot advise the complainant, but your lawyer can speak to the Crown.

That conversation is where a defence lawyer earns the fee. It can put the complainant's position in front of the Crown through proper channels, press for a stay where the evidence cannot carry the charge, or negotiate a peace bond that ends the charge without a conviction. Most of that work happens in the weeks before trial. If your charge involves a partner, read our pages on assault and domestic violence and on no-contact conditions.

If you are under a no-contact order and the complainant is asking to see you, call before you answer. One conversation with a lawyer is free. One text can cost you a new charge.

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