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

Vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses can ask for special measures.  

You will be classed as a vulnerable witness:

• if you are under 18

or

• if you have a physical or mental disability or condition that would affect your ability to give your best evidence in court. (This could include learning or social functioning difficulties.)

You’ll be classed as an intimidated witness if:

• You are frightened or distressed about giving evidence and this is likely to affect your ability to give your best evidence in court.
• You are a victim of rape or sexual assault
• You are a victim of modern slavery
• You are a victim or a witness of certain offences involving guns or knives

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.

There are two special measures that can help you give some or all of your evidence before the trial.

These are currently available to all vulnerable victims and witnesses.

They are also available to victims of rape or sexual assault and modern slavery in some Crown Courts. Your police contact will let you know if it is available in your court. We expect it to be available in all Crown Courts by autumn 2022.

Video recorded evidence-in-chief

‘Evidence-in-chief' is your description of what happened to you. This special measure allows us to video record your evidence before the trial and play it back during trial so that you don’t need to repeat all the details of the offence in court.

You will still be asked additional questions by the prosecution barrister to clarify any issues and be cross-examined (asked questions about your evidence) by the defence barrister 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.

Video recorded cross-examination or re-examination

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

This special measure allows us to record your cross-examination and re-examination before the trial.  You wouldn’t have to attend the trial at all and your video-recorded evidence-in-chief and cross-examination will be played to the court instead. You may still need to attend a court to record your cross-examination, but you would give your evidence from a private witness room rather than a courtroom.

Sometimes you might hear people call this special measure ‘section 28’, this is because that’s the section of the law on giving evidence which explains it. You can read more about cross-examination and re-examination in the section What you will be asked.

There are six special measures which can help you give evidence during the trial. The first four are available to both vulnerable and intimidated witnesses and the final two are only available to vulnerable victims and witnesses.

Screens

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.

Evidence by live link

This is usually a television link from a private room within the main court building but sometimes you can give evidence from another location such as a different courthouse closer to your home or a specially designed room in a police station.

If you give evidence via live link you will be able to see whoever is asking you the questions (the barristers 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.

Evidence given in private

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 but, 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

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 also help you share your answers clearly with the court.

Aids to Communication

Aids to communication can include things like visual-aid boards, eye-gaze software, dolls or body-outline drawings. You can use these if you have a disability that means you need support to assist you in understanding or answering questions.

The police will talk to you about which special measures would help you to give your evidence. You can also ask them about it if you’d like to discuss it at any stage.

They will let us know what special measures you’ve chosen and why and we will apply to the court for permission to use them. We’ll explain to the judge or magistrates why we think they will help you to give your best evidence.

The judge or magistrates will then make a decision about what special measures to approve. The police will let you know what they have decided.