Can I report a crime for someone else?
I gave information to the police about a crime, why
have I been called as a defence witness?
Why haven't the police contacted me since I made my
report?
How long will the police investigation
take?
What is bail?
What does remand in custody mean?
How will they decide a court date?
Are there hearings before the case gets to
trial?
Can I claim expenses for attending court?
Can a friend or relative who comes to court with me
also claim expenses?
What about childcare?
How long will the trial go on for?
What about breaks for meals and things?
Can I sit down when I give my evidence?
How do I find out about the verdict?
What influences the sentence given to the
defendant?
Can the defendant appeal against the
verdict?
Is the appeal the end of the process?
Below are some frequently asked questions about witnessing a
crime.
Q. Can I report a crime
for someone else?
Yes you can. The police do prefer the victim to report the
incident directly because that person has full knowledge of what
has happened, but they do understand that this is not always
possible.
If the victim is concerned about talking to the police, they may
find it helpful to talk to someone else for support. Victim
Support, which is an independent national charity, offers emotional
and practical support to victims and witnesses , whether or not
they decide to report a crime.
Q. I gave information to the police about a crime, why
have I been called as a defence witness?
There is no ownership of witnesses. This means that, in some
cases, witnesses who originally give information to the police can
be asked to give evidence for the defence in court. It will depend
on which side thinks your evidence is most helpful to their
case.
Q. Why haven't the police contacted me since I made my
report?
The police have to prioritise what they can and cannot
investigate and what information they should follow up. In some
cases the police may decide that they do not need to speak to you
again but just because the police have not contacted you or they
have not asked you to make a statement, it does not mean that they
do not value your information. They will usually only take
statements from witnesses if the crime is serious or where there is
a good chance that they will be able to arrest someone.
Even if your information does not help solve that particular
crime the police can use the information to try to find patterns in
where and how crime is being committed in a certain area. What you
tell the police may also help by confirming what they already
suspect, or it may provide a new line of investigation.
Q. How long will the police investigation
take?
A police investigation can take several months and the
investigation will carry on as long as the police think they can
achieve something. They will check developments and try to tie in
information with any other similar cases or ongoing criminal
activity. If the police collect enough evidence to identify a
suspect they will interview the person and take the appropriate
action for each particular case.
Q. What is bail?
Unconditional bail - Where the police think that the suspect is
unlikely to commit another offence, will attend court when
required, will not intimidate the victim or other witnesses or
obstruct the course of justice they will usually release them on
unconditional bail. This requires only that they turn up to court
on time. However if they do not turn up the court can issue a
warrant for their arrest.
Conditional bail - Where the police think there is a risk that
the suspect may commit another offence, fail to turn up at court,
intimidate you or other witnesses, or obstruct the course of
justice, they can impose conditional bail. This means that their
liberty is restricted in some way. For example, there may be a
condition not to go within a certain distance of your house, or
there may be a curfew if the offence was committed at night. If
they are reported or believed to have breached one of the
conditions, they can be arrested and put before a magistrates court
where they may be remanded in custody.
Q. What does remand in custody mean?
Where there is a high risk of the defendant committing another
offence, failing to turn up at court, intimidating you or
obstructing the course of justice the police will keep the
defendant in detention and take them to the magistrates court. The
Crown Prosecutor will be given details of the offence and reasons
why the police think that they should be remanded in custody to a
prison. It is up to the prosecutor to decide whether or not they
agree with the police recommendation. One of the things they will
think about will be circumstances and potential threat to the
victim or other witnesses.
The defendant will usually be represented by a solicitor who may
argue that they should be given bail. After hearing the prosecutor
and the defence solicitor or defendant, the magistrates will decide
on bail. If the defendant is remanded in custody, they may apply
one more time for bail to the magistrates and then if that
application is refused they can apply to a judge. After this they
cannot make any more applications unless they can persuade the
magistrates that something about the case or personal circumstances
has changed.
Q. How will they decide a court date?
At a special hearing known as a pre-trial review in the
magistrates' court and a plea and directions hearing in the Crown
Court, the prosecutor and the defence lawyer will tell the court
how long they think the trial will take and how many witnesses will
have to come to court to give evidence. If the case is long and
complicated, it may not be possible to list it for trial at that
hearing, because more work has to be done. If this is the case it
will be listed for trial at another court hearing after everyone
has done the work and is ready.
The court will then fix a date for the trial. The Court will do
its best to find a date that is convenient for all the witnesses
(for instance, courts will try to avoid fixing trials when you are
on holiday).This may not be always possible especially if it will
result in a long delay until the trial date.
Q. Are there hearings before the case gets to
trial?
There may be a number of hearings to deal with legal issues
before the trial begins. As a general rule the more complicated
cases will take longer to get to trial and have more hearings
before the trial because the prosecution and defence have more
preparation to do. You do not have to attend these hearings.
Q. Can I claim expenses for attending court?
The Witness Care Officer will provide you with the expense claim
form.
The claim form sets out what you can claim for, including
expenses for travel (if we have not arranged this for you), an
allowance for meals and loss of earnings. The amount you can
claim will depend on the length of time you have to be away from
home or work to go to court. You can claim expenses only up
to when you are released by the court.
You cannot claim expenses for a friend or relative who may
accompany you. However, if you need someone to help with your
mobility or for certain other reasons, they may be able to claim
expenses such as travel. Please contact us if you have any
questions.
Please attach receipts for expenses to your claim form. We
do our best to pay claims within 10 days of receipt.
Q. Can a friend or relative who comes to court with me also
claim expenses?
If you take a friend or relative to keep you company they won't
be able to get expenses such as travel costs unless the court
agrees he or she must be there. For example, you may need someone
to look after your child while you give evidence, or if you are
disabled. You can check this with the person who asked you to come
to court.
Q. What about childcare?
If you have to arrange childcare because you have to attend
court to be a witness you can claim a financial loss allowance to
meet the cost of this. If you cannot arrange any childcare and you
need to bring your children or dependants with you, you should
contact the court to find out what facilities they have to help
you. Although you can bring your children into the court, you will
not be able to take your children into the courtroom to sit with
you whilst you give evidence.
Q. How long will the trial go on for?
There are many things that influence the length of a trial so it
is not possible to say. Some larger cases where the offence is
serious and there are many witnesses, go on for weeks. Even if the
case goes on for a long time you will not be expected to attend
court for that whole time, you will normally only have to attend
court on the day that you have to give evidence.
Q. What about breaks for meals and things?
The court will break for lunch, and may have other breaks during
the day. During a break you should not speak to anyone about your
evidence and you may be asked to have lunch separately from other
witnesses in your case.
Q. Can I sit down when I give my evidence?
Usually witnesses stand in the witness box to give evidence but
in some courts you can sit down. If you find it difficult to stand
for long periods of time and would rather be seated tell the
Witness Service, the lawyer or the usher before you give your
evidence. If you are unable to do this ask the magistrate or judge
if you can be seated before you give your evidence.
Q. How do I find out about the verdict?
You should contact the person who asked you to attend court and
they will tell you the result.
Q. What influences the sentence given to the
defendant?
The age of the defendant, their background and criminal history,
whether or not they pleaded guilty, and whether they have shown any
remorse, can all be taken into consideration when the defendant is
sentenced.
Q. Can the defendant appeal against the
verdict?
An offender can appeal against the sentence or conviction or
both.
If the defendant is convicted in the magistrates court and
appeals against the conviction, the whole trial will be heard again
in front of a judge and two magistrates. You may have to give your
evidence again. If it is only the sentence that is in dispute, a
Crown Court judge will consider the appeal and decide whether to
change the sentence or keep it the same.
If the defendant appeals against a Crown Court conviction, the
appeal will be heard by the Court of Appeal who will either quash
the conviction which means it is no longer valid, order a retrial,
which means the case has to be heard again, or leave the conviction
as it is.
Q. Is the appeal the end of the process?
If a defendant's appeal is unsuccessful, they can make an
application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission which considers
alleged miscarriages of justice that have been through the appeals
process. The Commission can refer the case back to the Court of
Appeal if they consider there is a real possibility that a
conviction or sentence would not be upheld.
