Will an Assault Charge Give You a Criminal Record?

The question in the title of whether an assault charge will give you a criminal record is a complicated one that does not have a clear, black and white answer. In today’s blog we are going to discuss this unclear area of court proceedings.

In Canada, one gets a criminal record when that person is charged with and then convicted of a crime, such as assault. However, this assumes that once you are charged, the case continues through the court system, and you are found guilty.

Before, however, a case flows through the court system, charges may be dropped, and cases can be dismissed. So, the question then becomes, will an assault charge that does not result in a conviction give you a criminal record? The answer to that question is technically “no.”

However, just because a charge or case does not result in a conviction, does not mean that all of the paper trail, digital and otherwise, magically disappears from law enforcement.

This is an important nuance. This means that if you are charged with assault or any crime, whether or not it proceeds to court, one may need to do some investigating, possibly with the help of your lawyer, to find out if there are records related to you that need to be purged.

Vestiges of your assault charges may remain either with the RCMP or other local police forces, and it can take some work to get these removed so that they do not impact you in the future, such as for employment, immigration or travel.

If you have been charged with a criminal offence, please contact Gagan Nahal for a free consultation in Vancouver at (604) 527-4769 as soon as possible. Mr. Nahal’s law practice focuses on criminal defence law, and he has extensive experience in this area of the law.

Gagan Nahal is a criminal defence lawyer based in Surrey, British Columbia, although he has represented clients across Canada. He works vigorously and tirelessly defending his clients.

If you have any questions about this article or you would like to talk to Mr. Nahal, please call him directly at (604) 527-4769.