Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimbuna
In a situation where there is no evidence of any kind or witnesses to the alleged event then leave it up to the relevant department (in the UK it is the Crown Prosecution Service) to decide if there is any realistic outcome of a successful prosecution as well as the law courts/jury.
That is the situation in the UK anyway.
|
Your analysis sums up the newly enacted legislation in Germany concisely. Your background in law enforcement gives this issue a better perspective.
If there is physical evidence which ties an individual to the crime we are discussing here, then it's likely that individual will be prosecuted. DNA analysis in various forms is no longer in it's infancy and is widely accepted in prosecutorial court proceedings due to it's near certainty. There are also eyewitness accounts which although useful, can be discredited in court. DNA evidence is almost iron clad.
DNA evidence has also been used to exonerate people wrongly tried and convicted for various crimes.
For this reason, I don't think people have much to worry about with regards to being in the general area where a crime took place if they weren't involved in the crime itself.
I think most people would intervene on the side of the victim if a woman was being attacked in that manner or physically assaulted to help them.
I'm sure this newly enacted law will be tweaked as the need arises if there are problems or issues.
Something else to consider is any law, rule or regulation is only as good as the enforcement behind it.