Okuzeka
Criminal Law & Justice vocabulary · Victims' Rights

Press charges

Meaning in criminal law & justice, with examples

phraseCommon term

In criminal law & justice, press charges means: To make a formal complaint against someone so that they can be charged with a crime; used mainly about victims.

In Turkish: şikayetçi olmak, suç duyurusunda bulunmak, dava açılmasını istemek

How it is used

Common in everyday and media English: 'Do you want to press charges?', 'she decided not to press charges'. Legally, the state brings charges, so the phrase describes the victim's decision to support a prosecution rather than the charge itself.

Example sentences

  1. The shop owner said he would press charges against the boys.

  2. She was too frightened to press charges at first.

  3. The officer asked whether we wanted to press charges.

Common collocations

  • press charges against
  • decide to press charges
  • refuse to press charges
  • want to press charges
  • complainantThe person who reports a crime and says they were harmed by it, especially in court before it has been decided whether the crime took place.
  • drop the chargesTo decide officially not to continue with a criminal case against someone, so that they no longer face the accusation.
  • victimA person who has been harmed, injured or killed as a result of a crime, or who has lost money or property because of it.
  • chargeTo formally accuse someone of a particular crime so that the case can go to court; as a noun, a charge is the formal accusation itself.

More terms: Victims' Rights

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not legal advice.