POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 89 Going to the Police continued Will the police take my partner from our home? If your partner is charged with a crime the police will most likely take your partner from your home to the police station. Your partner might be released by the police or by the court if your partner agrees to follow certain conditions, which could include: • not contacting you • not going to the family home • having limited or no contact with your children • not having a gun or any kind of weapon • handing in their passport • showing up in court on the date ordered. These conditions will be written in a legal form called an 'undertaking' (a written promise to a police officer) or a 'recognizance' (a court order from a judge). These forms are also sometimes called a 'no contact' order. If your partner was released and contacts you, or does not follow other conditions, you should call the police. Your partner may be arrested, charged with a new crime, and/or kept in custody until the matter goes to court. Conditions can be changed by the court at any time during the court process. They end when the case is over. If your partner is found guilty then the sentence they get may have similar or new conditions they must follow. Your partner might try to force or scare you into asking the Crown Attorney (a government lawyer) or the court to change or remove the conditions. If your partner threatens you or your children, you should tell the police. Your partner can be charged for making this type of threat. If you also have a family court case, you need to tell your family law lawyer or the family court about any conditions of release. It is important that your family court orders and criminal court orders say the same things. Divorce law says judges must make sure they know about cases happening in other courts, such as criminal court or a child protection case. You have a legal duty to tell the court about other criminal or noncriminal cases. In all family law cases the judge must consider family violence so be prepared to answer questions about other cases. If I call the police will I have to go to court? You may have to go to court if the police charge your partner with a crime. If you need one the police and the courts must provide an interpreter free of charge for you and any other witnesses. You will have to go to court if you are charged with a crime. Can the charges be dropped? Only the Crown Attorney can change or withdraw criminal charges. www.legalinfo.org
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