Victims' Guide - Support to give your evidence: ‘special measures’

Video One looks at what special measures are, and who can ask for them.

Special measures aren’t available for everybody. You can ask for special measures if you are legally known as vulnerable or intimidated.

To fit the legal meaning of vulnerable, you would:

• Be under 18 at the time of the hearing;
• Or have physical or mental needs that could affect you giving your best evidence if you didn’t have special measures.

To fit the legal meaning of intimidated you would:

• Feel very scared or upset in a way that will affect you giving your best evidence, if you didn’t have special measures;
• Be a victim of a sexual offence or domestic abuse;
• Be a victim of modern slavery;
• Or have witnessed a crime involving a gun or a knife.

The police officer in your case will discuss special measures with you to understand whether might be eligible to ask for them. You should tell them if you think you should be classed as a vulnerable or intimidated witness.

When going through the criminal justice process, victims have twelve rights. They are set out in the Victim’s Code.

Video two looks at the special measures that change how, when or where you give your evidence, so that in all of them you give your evidence away from the main court room.

There are three measures covered in video two:

• giving evidence by live link,
• video recorded evidence in chief and
• pre-recorded cross examination (only available in Crown Court cases).

Usually, giving evidence means the victim, or witness, would go into the courtroom on the day of trial.

They stand in a witness box and tell the court what happened- we call that giving evidence in chief.

Then they are asked questions by the defence and prosecution lawyers- we call that cross-examination and re-examination.

The defendant can see them, and they can see the defendant. There might be people (like journalists, members of the public, or friends and family) watching.

Evidence by live link

Giving evidence by live link changes where you give your evidence from, so you can tell the court what happened and answer the lawyers’ questions from another room, away from the main court.

This is usually a television link from a private room within the main court building. Sometimes you can give evidence from another location such as a different courthouse closer to your home, a specially designed room in a police station, or a centre that provides support to victims.

If you give evidence via live link, you will be able to see whoever is asking you the questions (the lawyer or the judge) but you usually won’t be able to see anyone else in the courtroom.

However, everyone in the courtroom will be able to see you, including the defendant.

We can apply for screens together with the live link to prevent the defendant from seeing you, if you would find that helpful.

Anyone who’s legally ‘vulnerable or intimidated’ can ask to use live link.

Video recorded evidence-in-chief

Video recorded evidence in chief changes how you give your main evidence to the court.

Instead of coming into the court room and telling the court what happened, your witness statement is video recorded by the police before the trial. It is played back to the court during trial so that you don’t need to repeat all the details of the offence in court.

After your video recorded evidence-in-chief is played to the court, you will still be asked additional questions by the prosecution lawyer, to clarify any issues and be cross-examined (asked questions about your evidence) by the defence lawyer during the trial.

Sometimes you might hear people call this a ‘VRI’ which stands for ‘Video Recorded Interview’ or an ‘ABE’ which stands for ‘Achieving Best Evidence’ interview.

Anyone who’s legally ‘vulnerable or intimidated’ can ask to video record their evidence.

Video recorded cross-examination or re-examination

This special measure is only available if your case is in a Crown Court.

If a video recorded interview is being played to the court as your main evidence, we can also ask the judge if we can video record your cross examination, and re-examination, before the main trial takes place.

‘Cross-examination’ is when the defendant’s lawyer asks you questions about your account of what happened. ‘Re-examination’ is what we call any final follow up questions that the prosecution lawyer asks you.

With this special measure, instead of you answering the lawyer’s questions during the main trial, you go to another, shorter court hearing. You answer the lawyers’ questions through a live link, either from a different room in the court or sometimes a different building altogether.

The judge, lawyers, and defendant are there, but usually not in the same room as you. And there’s no jury. 
This shorter court hearing is filmed. During the main trial, the court will first watch your video-recorded interview as your main evidence and then they’ll watch the video of your cross-examination.

That means you might not have to attend the main trial at all because your video-recorded evidence-in-chief and cross-examination will be played to the court instead.

This special measure is sometimes called “section 28”, because of the bit of law it comes from.

You can read more about cross-examination and re-examination in the Victims’ Guide section, The Trial, under ‘What you will be asked.’

Video recorded cross-examination is available to all legally vulnerable victims and witnesses.

It is also available to victims of rape or sexual assault and modern slavery 

Video three looks at special measures that offer extra support while you give your evidence.

There are five further special measures which can help you give evidence during the trial.

These special measures can be used on their own or in combination with the other measures.

The first three are available to both vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses and the final two are only available to vulnerable victims and witnesses.

Screens (available to both vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses)

Screens are usually curtains or panels that the court places between the witness box and the defendant when you are giving evidence. This means that you won’t see the defendant while you give your evidence or when you’re being cross-examined. The judge, jury and barristers can see you and you can see them.

In most courts, the other people in the court room shouldn’t be able to see you if you have a screen. This might not be the case for all courts. You can speak to someone from the Witness Service to find out more about the layout of the court you will be going to.

Evidence given in private (available to both vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses)

This means the courtroom is cleared of everyone who doesn’t legally need to be there for the purposes of the trial.

If your case is likely to attract media attention, one member of the press is allowed to stay in the court. 

However, as with every stage of the case, you have full anonymity, and they are not allowed to publish your name.

Removal of wigs and gowns by the judge and barristers (available to both vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses)

This is usually used for child victims and witnesses. This is aimed at helping them to feel more comfortable by making the court seem less formal.

There are two special measures which are only available to vulnerable victims and witnesses:

Intermediaries

Intermediaries are people who can support you if you need help to fully understand and answer the questions you are being asked. An intermediary will check that the questions are asked in a way that means you can easily understand them. They will help you share your answers clearly with the court. They can also ask for you to have breaks whilst giving evidence, if you need them.

An intermediary might be helpful for a child or young person.  An intermediary might also be helpful for anyone who has difficulties with communication – for example if they are neurodivergent or have a disability or mental health condition.

Aids to Communication

Aids to communication can include things like visual-aid boards, eye-gaze software, dolls or body-outline drawings, communication boards, or special communication tech.

You can use these if you have a disability that means you need support to assist you in understanding or answering. They can also help children and young people to communicate with the court.

Video four explains how asking for special measures works. It’s a formal process, and there are a few steps and organisations involved.

Stage one: deciding what special measures you want to ask for

When a crime is reported, the police will do a ‘victim needs assessment’. This means they will speak to you about getting the support you need, including any special measures.

If you are legally vulnerable or intimidated, the police, or someone from the police witness care unit, will explain what special measures are and how they work, answering your questions. Together, you will decide what you want to ask for or if you want any special measures at all.

You should explain to your police, or witness care officer, why you think the special measures you are asking for will help you to give your evidence.

Don’t worry if your needs change after you speak to the police – just let them know if they do.

Stage two: making an application

The police let the CPS know what special measures you want to ask for. We then formally make the application to the judge or magistrates, for the measures you’ve asked for. It helps if we can explain why you specifically want the special measures you’re asking for.

We need to make the application as soon as possible. It happens in a short court hearing, which you’ll be told about but you don’t need to be at court for it.

You might change your mind about what special measures you want later on. If you change your mind, we will ask the judge or magistrates again, even if it’s close to (or the day of) the trial.

However, it’s generally better if we ask earlier on, so we have plenty of time to tell the judge or magistrates everything they need to know. This is especially true of pre-recorded cross-examination, because it happens before the main trial hearing and so takes longer to arrange.

Stage three: the decision

The judge or magistrates decide if you can have special measures, or not.

Firstly, the judge or magistrates will check whether you can ask for special measures- if you are legally “vulnerable” or “intimidated”.

If you are, the judge or magistrate will consider whether the special measures you have asked for are likely to help you give your best evidence, and whether the lawyers can still ask any questions they need to about your evidence, to make sure it’s a fair trial for everyone. They also need to be sure you’ve understood everything you’re asking for.

If the judge feels that the special measures you have asked for will help you give your best evidence, and are fair to everyone, they will agree to you having them.

If the judge or magistrate don’t think a special measure will help you give your best evidence, they might agree to a different one instead, or they might say that no special measures can be used.

We know that might be disappointing. The judge or magistrate has to balance your needs, with your evidence, and the fairness of the trial, so that the decision they make is the right one for the case. Even if you don’t get the special measures you want, the judge or magistrate will still make sure that you are treated fairly and with respect.

Support available to everyone

If special measures aren’t available to you, there are other things that can help you feel more comfortable when giving your evidence.

This support includes ‘reasonable adjustments’ at court, for people with disabilities who need support, or something different provided to help them. Some examples of reasonable adjustments include things like British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, guidance in alternative formats including Audio and Easy Read, and forms in large print.

Other forms of support include taking breaks when you give evidence, arranging steps to avoid seeing the defendant in the building, or having your caring responsibilities taken into account where possible, when arranging court hearing times and dates.

Every victim and witness can also arrange to visit the court before the trial. This lets you see what giving evidence, including any special measures you might have, will look like on the day. You can read about court visits in our victims’ guide ‘what you need to do before trial’.

Please talk to the police or the Witness Service if you would like more information on any support you need. You can also visit the Witness Service website.