How Do I Press Charges on Someone? The Police Report Does the Work

To press charges on someone in the United States, call 911 during an immediate emergency or contact the law-enforcement agency where the incident occurred, make a police report, preserve original evidence while providing copies as directed, identify witnesses, and obtain the case number; police investigate the allegation, and a prosecutor decides whether criminal charges are filed. USAGov gives 911 as the emergency number and directs nonemergency reports to the agency where the crime occurred. The Justice Department assigns the charging decision to the prosecutor.

Taken together, USAGov’s reporting instructions and the Justice Department’s charging guide divide the everyday phrase “press charges” into three acts. A victim reports. Police document and investigate. A prosecutor files or declines a criminal case under the law of that jurisdiction. The report does the practical work available to a victim because it creates the dated route by which a firsthand account, witnesses and evidence can reach the official who controls charging.

Who actually files criminal charges after a police report?

The prosecutor files criminal charges, sometimes through a complaint or information and sometimes by presenting evidence to a grand jury. The Justice Department’s federal-process guide says investigators obtain evidence and help prosecutors understand the case; its charging guide says the prosecutor studies that information and decides whether to present the matter to a grand jury. State procedures differ, and the department notes that states do not all require grand-jury charging.

Under that Justice Department sequence, a police report and a criminal charge do different jobs. The report records an allegation for investigation and receives an agency identifier. A charge is a formal accusation brought in court by the government. A victim’s wish to proceed is information the prosecutor may consider. It does not become a charge merely because a box was checked or an officer asked, “Do you want to press charges?”

That discretion carries unusual weight. In a 1940 address to U.S. Attorneys, Robert H. Jackson, then the U.S. attorney general and later a Supreme Court justice, said, “The prosecutor has more control over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.” The Justice Department archive preserves the speech. Jackson’s warning helps explain why the charging gate remains with a public official who must evaluate the evidence and the law.

What steps should a victim take to start the process?

1. Deal with the immediate risk. Call 911 if a crime is happening, a suspect remains at the scene, someone is injured or there is an immediate threat. The National 911 Program says callers should be ready to give the location, nature of the emergency, injuries and a description of the person involved. For an emergency in another city or state, the program advises calling that community’s 10-digit law-enforcement number because most 911 calls cannot be transferred across jurisdictions.

1. Report to the agency where the conduct occurred. USAGov directs victims to find the local law-enforcement agency for that location. If the conduct crossed jurisdictions, give the first agency every location and ask where supplemental reports belong. Internet crime can also be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, according to USAGov; an IC3 complaint does not erase the value of a local report when a local offense may have occurred.

1. Tell the event in time order. Give what was seen, heard, received or lost; identify who did each act; separate exact facts from estimates. The FBI’s 2025.0 National Incident-Based Reporting System specification treats the incident date as the date the event occurred or the beginning of the period in which it occurred. If the incident date is unknown, the specification uses the report date and marks it with an “R.” That distinction is worth preserving in the victim’s own notes.

1. Preserve the source material. Keep the original message thread, voicemail, photograph, video or document and give police a copy in the format they request. NIST’s Digital Evidence Preservation report recommends documenting the original source of a file and how it was created; it also explains that a cryptographic hash changes when even one bit changes. A victim does not need to calculate a hash before reporting, but should avoid editing, cropping, renaming or repeatedly resaving the only copy.

1. Identify witnesses and corroboration. Provide names, safe contact details and what each person could know. The Justice Department distinguishes direct evidence, such as an eyewitness account, from circumstantial evidence that supports an inference. Both can be considered. Camera locations, receipts, access logs, medical records and complete message threads can help investigators test the chronology without asking a witness to characterize the law.

1. Leave with the tracking information. Ask for the report or case number, the agency’s name, the submission date and the method for adding evidence. The Seattle Police Department distinguishes a temporary transaction number from an approved police-report number; the LAPD likewise issues a temporary number first and a report number after review. Use the official number on every supplement so later material reaches the same file.

Which dates and numbers belong in the file?

Six entries keep a report, an evidence folder and a later phone call tied to the same event. The examples below show format; a victim must replace illustrative dates and timestamps with the values displayed on the original records.

| Entry | What to record | Verifiable source | |---|---|---| | Emergency contact | 911 for an immediate emergency; the local agency’s 10-digit number for an emergency outside the caller’s area | USAGov and the National 911 Program | | Incident date and hour | The actual date and time; the FBI format is eight digits, `YYYYMMDD`, with hour `00` through `23` | FBI 2025.0 NIBRS Technical Specification | | Report date | The submission or call date in the victim’s log. Under NIBRS, an unknown incident date is replaced by the report date and an `R` indicator | FBI 2025.0 NIBRS Technical Specification | | Case number | Copy it exactly. Seattle’s published example is `2010-000017`, while its temporary number begins with `T` plus eight digits | Seattle Police Department | | Evidence timestamp | Copy the full device value with its time-zone offset, such as `2026-09-04T21:17:43-04:00`, rather than rounding it | RFC 3339 date-and-time format; example is illustrative | | Limitation period | Verify the offense and jurisdiction. The general federal period for a noncapital offense is five years; state periods can be shorter | 18 U.S.C. § 3282 and the applicable state code |

An incident on September 4 and a report made on September 7 contain two facts, even when both fall in the same week. The FBI specification’s separate treatment of incident and report dates shows why collapsing them can misstate the record. A file timestamp also needs its offset: `21:17:43-04:00` and `21:17:43Z` refer to different instants. RFC 3339 defines `Z` as UTC and permits a numeric offset.

How much evidence can support a charging decision?

There is no nationwide quota of screenshots, witnesses or documents that automatically produces a charge. For federal cases, the Justice Department’s prosecution manual tells government attorneys to proceed when they believe the conduct is a federal offense and the admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction, subject to listed considerations such as federal interest and another jurisdiction’s prosecution. That is a prosecutor’s evaluation, not a minimum file count for the victim.

One firsthand account can be evidence. One screenshot can also be incomplete: it may omit the sender, date, preceding exchange or original file. The Justice Department’s investigation guide says prosecutors examine direct and circumstantial evidence, while NIST recommends documenting a digital file’s source and preserving a way to verify that a copy matches the original. Together, those sources favor traceable material over a thick folder of duplicates.

For repeated harassment, Austin Police’s reporting categories and the LAPD’s narrower harassing-communication rules make a dated incident log especially useful: record the time, platform or location, exact words or conduct, witnesses and related filename on separate lines. A person seeking to press charges for harassment may qualify for Austin’s portal, while the LAPD limits online reports to specified conditions, including no known suspect. The two agencies plainly disagree on online eligibility.

Can a nonemergency police report be filed online?

Many agencies accept selected nonemergency reports online, but the local eligibility screen controls. Austin Police says online reporting is preferred for listed offenses, including harassment, fraud and some assaults. The LAPD’s portal requires, among other conditions, no emergency, no injury, no known suspect and no firearm involvement. An assault in Austin may qualify where a similar report would fail Los Angeles’s screen.

Online submission is the intake, not proof that an official report already exists. The LAPD says its reports are reviewed on average once every 24 hours and assigns a report number after approval. Seattle gives an immediate temporary transaction number, then emails the official police-report number if the report is approved. Save the confirmation page and watch for rejection or requests for more information.

How long do you have to report an alleged crime?

The statute of limitations depends on the offense, state and sometimes the victim’s age or the date the conduct was discovered. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3282, the default limitation period for a federal noncapital offense is five years. That federal figure does not govern an ordinary state prosecution. California Penal Code § 802, for example, sets a one-year default for offenses outside specified imprisonment categories and then lists misdemeanor exceptions of two, three or four years.

A limitations period is the government’s deadline to begin a prosecution, not a recommended waiting period for making a police report. Section 3282 speaks of an indictment being found or an information being instituted within five years. Someone trying to press misdemeanor charges cannot safely borrow that federal number; California’s one-year default demonstrates the risk. The applicable prosecutor or a licensed lawyer can identify the controlling statute from the precise offense and dates.

What happens after police accept the report?

The agency may screen the report, assign it for investigation, seek more records, interview witnesses or make an arrest if the legal basis exists. The Justice Department’s federal investigation guide says police may arrest first when they have probable cause, while other cases develop through evidence gathering and prosecutor review. No arrest on the reporting day therefore reveals little about the eventual charging decision.

If a prosecutor files, the court process may include an initial appearance or arraignment, discovery, plea negotiations, motions and trial. The Justice Department’s process guide cautions that federal and state rules differ. A victim may be asked for another interview, to identify evidence or to testify; the prosecutor represents the government, and a defense lawyer represents the accused. A plea can resolve the case without a trial.

If the case is declined, ask the investigator or prosecutor’s office whether the decision is final, whether additional evidence can be submitted and how to obtain status information. In a federal case, the Crime Victims’ Rights Act gives qualifying victims rights that include reasonable notice of public proceedings and the reasonable right to confer with the government attorney. State constitutions and statutes supply their own victim-rights procedures.

Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money to press charges?

Making a crime report and asking a prosecutor to review it do not carry a civil-court filing fee because the government, rather than the victim, brings the criminal case. Agencies may charge for optional report copies or 911 recordings; the National 911 Program says retrieval fees vary by center and local policy.

How much evidence do you need to charge someone?

No fixed number of witnesses, screenshots or documents guarantees a charge. The Justice Department’s federal standard asks whether admissible evidence will probably be sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction. A detailed firsthand statement may matter, and investigators can seek corroboration. State charging standards and procedures can differ from federal policy.

What happens when you decide to press charges on someone?

Your decision is communicated through a police report and cooperation with investigators. Police collect facts and may send the case to a prosecutor, who can file charges, request more investigation or decline. The Justice Department assigns that filing judgment to prosecutors; a victim’s preference is relevant information, not a binding charging order.

What are the steps to pressing charges?

Call 911 for immediate danger, report the incident to law enforcement where it occurred, give a chronological statement, preserve original evidence, identify witnesses and obtain the case number. USAGov and the Justice Department describe the next division of labor: police investigate, then a prosecutor decides whether criminal charges are filed.

Can I file charges against someone online?

You may be able to submit a police report online for an eligible nonemergency offense; the prosecutor still files any criminal charge. Austin accepts several online categories, while Los Angeles excludes reports involving injury, known suspects or firearms. Check the agency where the incident occurred and save the temporary confirmation number.

Will I have to go to court after making a report?

Possibly. Investigators or prosecutors may need another interview, and a subpoena can require testimony or records. Many filed cases end through a plea, so no trial occurs. The Justice Department’s criminal-process guide shows that procedure varies, while federal victim law provides qualifying victims notice of public court proceedings.