Standard 8
Help people to give evidence
We will find out if you need help to say what you saw in court. We will tell you what is happening. We will help you to give your best evidence.
8.1 Each Victim is contacted by a person who will help them through the court case.
We talk about all these people as Witness Care Officers.
This person keeps the victim up to date with what is happening.
They also make sure that the victim is looked after in court.
They ask the victim if they would like to make a victim's personal statement.
This statement is read to the court if the defendant says they did the crime (plead guilty), or if the court says the defendant did the crime.
Witness care is provided by the police and us (The Crown Prosecution Service) together.
8.2 When the defendant says they didn't do the crime (pleads not guilty)the witness care officer:
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Tells the witnesses the date of the trial.
They have to do this within a time limit. -
Talks to the witnesses.
They ask the witnesses if they need help to give their best evidence in court.
They ask what that help should be.
This help may be things like giving evidence behind a screen so you can't be seen, or needing a translator.
They ask the witnesses:
If they need help to get to court
If they need someone to look after their children while they are at court.
The witness care officers try to find out if the witness is scared the defendant will try to make them change their evidence.
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Witness care officers try to find out if witnesses are disabled or have illnesses.They find out if the witnesses need help to speak to the court or be understood by the court.
- If the witness needs more help the witness care officer can tell them who to contact.
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Witness care officers help witnesses visit the court before the trial if they want to.They tell them what will happen when they go to court.
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Witness care officers can help witnesses contact the Witness Service.
The Witness Service is a voluntary organisation that can help support victims before the trial.
They also help support victims on the day of the trial and afterwards.
8.3 Sometimes a defendant carries on saying they did not do the crime and asks a higher court to agree with them (appeals). Then the Witness Care Officer will continue to help the witnesses like they did in the first court.
8.4 When a court case is finished witness care officers tell the victim and witnesses what happened.
They ask the victim and witnesses how they want to be told what happened in court.
They tell the victim and witnesses within a day of getting the result from the court.
They ask victims and witnesses if they need support.
8.5 In some cases Prosecutors meet the witnesses to find out if they need help to give evidence in court.
Usually Witness Care Officers do this.
8.6 Sometimes we ask the court to keep the name of a witness secret.
We have to tell the court why we want to do this.
8.7 When someone has died Prosecutors meet with the family.
They tell the family what will happen at each court hearing.
They tell the family about the case.
This is called the Victim Focus Scheme.
Read more about the victim focus scheme on our website.
8.8 People who work in Witness Care Units talk to people in the community about what they do.
They ask them what they think about Witness Care Units.
They try to understand what it is like to be a witness where they work.
Next page: Standard 9. Tell victims about changes.
Glossary
- Appeal
When you appeal in a court you ask the court to change its decision.
There are rules about who can appeal, when you can appeal and which court listens to your appeal.- Crown Prosecution Service
When the police think someone has done a crime the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decide if that person must go to court.
We tell the court about the crime and show the court the evidence.- Defendant
A defendant is a person accused of a crime.- Evidence
Evidence is information that makes it clear that something happened.
Evidence can be things like someone saying they saw a crime happen, or blood on a weapon, or who did it.- Plead guilty
When you plead guilty you tell the court you did the crime.- Plead Not Guilty
If a person "pleads not guilty" they tell the court they didn't do the crime they are charged with.- Prosecutor
Prosecutors are lawyers who represent the people. Prosecutors speak in court to accuse a person of a crime.
They show the court the evidence they have found.
They do this to protect the public.- Victim
- The victim is the person the crime was done to.
- Victim Focus Scheme
The Victim focus scheme is a special service for the families of people who have been killed by a crime.- Victim Personal Statement
The victim personal statement is where the victim can say how the crime has affected them.
The Victim Personal Statement is read to the court before the sentence is given by the Judge or Magistrates.- Witness
A witness is a person who sees the crime being done, or sees or knows something that shows who did it.- Witness Care Officer
- A Witness Care Officer is someone who looks after witnesses during a court case.
- Witness Service
The Witness Service supports witnesses in court. It is run by the charity Victim Support.
