united-kingdom police
Are the police compelled to share a criminal&#39;s details with the victim?
<p>A quick hypothetical. If I was assaulted, and provided video evidence to the authorities which the police used to successfully catch my assailant, would the police have to share my assailant's details with me?</p>
<p>Let's assume that the assailant was given a formal warning but not charged, and I wanted to pursue civil action, but I didn't have the assailant's details. Could the police refuse to tell me?</p>
<p>(Not concerned about the the likelihood of a civil case succeeding, just a hypothetical)</p>
<p>Specifically I'm asking about the UK. Do the four UK Nations vary at all in this regard?</p>

<p>No. The police cannot determine if you have a lawful reason to know the details. Not their job.</p>
<p>You can file your civil case using <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fictitious_defendants" rel="nofollow noreferrer">fictitious defendant</a> name and then just apply for a court order to disclose who the guy actually is as part of the disclosure process. Provided that the court is satisfied you have a case, it will grant such order and the police will have to obey it.</p>

<p>As far as I know, law enforcement does have the choice of whether or not they tell you the details. Obviously, they can't tell you everything about this person, but they can choose whether or not to tell you simple things like the criminal's name.</p>
