If you want criminal charges dropped, the call to make is to the prosecutor’s office handling the case, usually the district attorney, state’s attorney, or county attorney depending on where you live. Ask for the assistant prosecutor assigned to the file. That office is the only one with the authority to end a case once charges have been filed. You can ask, and your request carries real weight if you’re the victim or the reporting party, but the decision belongs to the prosecutor.
Why the Prosecutor Is the Right Call
Criminal charges are brought by the government, not by individuals. When you reported the incident, you gave the state the information it needed to act. From that point forward, the prosecutor has broad discretion to pursue, negotiate, or dismiss the case. Even if you’re the only victim and the only witness, they can keep the case alive if they believe the evidence is strong or the public interest calls for it.
The phrase “pressing charges” makes it sound like the victim runs the show. That’s a misconception. Prosecutors weigh your wishes alongside the severity of the alleged offense, the strength of the evidence, the defendant’s history, and whether there’s a pattern suggesting ongoing danger. Your cooperation matters a great deal in practice, because a reluctant witness makes a case harder to prove, but you don’t have veto power.
Under federal law, the government can dismiss an indictment, information, or complaint only with leave of court, meaning even the prosecutor needs a judge’s approval to end a case once it has been filed. 1Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 48 – Dismissal State procedures vary, but the underlying principle is the same everywhere: dismissal is a legal act that takes more than one person’s say-so.
How to Reach the Prosecutor
Look up the phone number for the district attorney’s office in the county where the case is being handled. If you don’t know the assigned assistant prosecutor by name, give the office the defendant’s name and, if you have it, the case number. They’ll route you to the right desk.
Be direct about why you’re calling. Say that you’d like the charges dismissed and explain your reasons. Prosecutors hear these requests regularly and won’t be shocked. Common reasons include reconciliation with the accused, a belief that the incident was a misunderstanding, or a preference for handling the matter outside the criminal system. The prosecutor will listen, and they’ll also evaluate whether dropping the case puts you or anyone else at risk.
Sometimes the prosecutor will offer something short of full dismissal. Diversion programs, in which the defendant completes community service, counseling, or other requirements in exchange for charges being dropped, are common for first-time offenders and lower-level offenses. Mediation exists in some jurisdictions. These options let the system keep some accountability while responding to your wishes.
Ask for the Victim Witness Coordinator
Most prosecutor’s offices employ victim witness coordinators, and if calling the prosecutor directly feels difficult, the coordinator is often the better first contact. They keep victims updated on case status, explain court procedures in plain language, and relay your concerns to the attorneys making the decisions. They can walk you through what an affidavit of non-prosecution involves and what to expect at each hearing.
Coordinators don’t make charging decisions themselves, but they make sure the prosecutor knows where you stand. Federal law gives crime victims the right to confer with the government’s attorney and to be reasonably heard at public proceedings involving release, plea, and sentencing. 2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3771 – Crime Victims Rights If the office doesn’t offer to connect you with a coordinator, ask.
The Affidavit of Non-Prosecution
If the prosecutor is open to your request, you’ll likely be asked to sign an affidavit of non-prosecution. It’s a sworn statement declaring that you don’t want the case to go forward, and it typically includes your reasons, whether you’re willing to testify, and confirmation that no one pressured you into signing it.
The affidavit does not guarantee dismissal. What it does is give the prosecutor cover to justify dropping the case if they’re inclined to do so. Without it, a prosecutor who dismisses charges may face questions from supervisors or victim advocacy groups about why the case was let go. The affidavit documents that the victim asked for it.
Because the document is sworn under penalty of perjury, accuracy matters. Don’t exaggerate, minimize, or misrepresent what happened. If you originally reported events truthfully but now want to move on, say exactly that. Changing your account of what happened is a separate issue with its own risks, discussed below. Having an attorney review the affidavit before you sign it is worth the expense.
Why the Police and the Court Clerk Aren’t the Answer
You can call the police department where you filed the original report, and it’s a reasonable step, but it’s less impactful than going to the prosecutor. Police investigate and arrest. They don’t control what happens after charges are filed. Telling the investigating officer or detective that you no longer wish to cooperate does get your position into the case file, and the prosecutor will see it. You may be asked to provide a written statement explaining your change of heart. Be honest about your reasons. Officers are trained to watch for signs that someone is recanting under pressure, especially in domestic violence or assault cases. If you’re being threatened or coerced into asking for charges to be dropped, tell them, because the system has protections built for that situation.
One thing the police cannot do is dismiss charges on their own. Even if the arresting officer agrees the case should be dropped, that call belongs to the prosecutor.
The court clerk’s office isn’t the right call either. Clerks handle case files, scheduling, and paperwork, but they have no authority over charging decisions. They can tell you when the next hearing is, whether a motion has been filed, and what documents are in the file, and they can help you find the case number when you’re contacting other offices. What they cannot do is accept a request from you to drop the case or pass your wishes along to the judge in any meaningful way. Their role is administrative.
Call Sooner Rather Than Later
Your chances of stopping a prosecution are significantly better before charges are formally filed. In the window between the police submitting their report and the prosecutor deciding whether to file, a call to the prosecutor’s office can be genuinely decisive. Without your cooperation, many cases aren’t strong enough to bring, and prosecutors won’t spend resources on a reluctant victim when the offense is relatively minor.
Once charges have been filed and the defendant has been arraigned, the case has taken on a life of its own. Court dates are set, resources are committed, and the prosecutor may feel institutional pressure to follow through. Your request still matters, but the bar for dismissal rises. At this stage, a plea deal or diversion program is more likely than a straight dismissal.
During trial, dismissal becomes harder still. Under federal rules, the government cannot dismiss a prosecution during trial without the defendant’s consent, and most state rules impose similar restrictions once trial is underway.
If the Case Involves Domestic Violence
If the charges involve domestic violence, expect a much steeper climb. Many jurisdictions follow what’s known as a “no-drop” prosecution policy, meaning the office will pursue the case regardless of the victim’s wishes. These policies exist because domestic violence has an exceptionally high recantation rate, and prosecutors know that victims are frequently pressured by their abusers to withdraw cooperation.
In these cases, signing an affidavit of non-prosecution is less likely to end things. Prosecutors often rely on other evidence, such as 911 recordings, photographs of injuries, neighbor statements, and body camera footage, specifically so they don’t have to depend on the victim’s testimony. Some offices have specialized domestic violence units whose entire mission is to prosecute these cases without victim cooperation.
If you genuinely believe the prosecution is doing more harm than good, communicate that clearly to the victim witness coordinator and the assigned prosecutor. Your perspective should be part of their calculus, even if it doesn’t control the outcome.
What Not to Do
Some people assume that refusing to testify will force the prosecutor to drop the case. That’s not necessarily true. Prosecutors can subpoena you, and a subpoena is a court order, not a suggestion. Ignoring one can result in a bench warrant and a contempt of court finding. If a prosecutor believes you might flee or refuse to comply, they can seek a material witness warrant, which can result in detention until you testify or until the trial concludes. In practice, prosecutors rarely go this far with victims, because forcing a hostile victim onto the stand usually produces testimony that hurts the case more than it helps. But the tools exist, and in serious cases they get used.
There’s also an important difference between saying “I don’t want to participate in this case anymore” and saying “what I originally reported didn’t happen.” The first is your right. The second can create serious legal problems for you. If your original statement was truthful and you now claim it wasn’t, you could face charges for making a false statement, obstruction of justice, or perjury if you testified under oath. If your original statement was false and you’re now admitting that, you could face charges for filing a false police report.
The safest path is to be honest without changing your story. You can tell the prosecutor you don’t want to move forward, that you’ve forgiven the other person, or that you believe the situation doesn’t warrant criminal prosecution, all without contradicting what you originally reported. If you’re thinking about recanting, talk to your own attorney first. Not the defendant’s attorney, and not a relative who knows some law. Your own lawyer, representing your interests alone.