The victim may also influence the decisions of the prosecutor, but only after formal charges have been filed. That is, the victim has the right to confer with the prosecutor after charges have been filed. The victim therefore does not have much influence over the prosecutor's decision whether to charge, but the victim can be very influential over how the charges are disposed of by this right. The victim must be conferred with over any plea agreement offer. Often plea offers involve dropping the charges (for example in a diversion agreement where the accused will attend counseling, or do community service work, or pay back the victim his or her financial loss in exchange for dismissal of the charges).

Although the victim has the right to have input into how the charges are disposed of, the ultimate decision is the prosecutor's decision. One practical way in which a victim can influence whether a charge is brought in the first place is with the police. If the police never refer their report to the prosecutor, the prosecutor will not know that a crime has occurred that can be charged.

Frequently, if an incident is sufficiently minor and the victim informs the police that they do not wish to press charges, the police report will not be referred to the prosecutor and there won't be an occasion for charges to be brought.

In all, you would want the elected government authority, the prosecutor, to have the final charging decision. Otherwise, victims, in particular battered spouses, abused children, and others, could be coerced by threat or otherwise to 'not press charges.'