Police may audio or video tape you when you are giving your statement. Making a Witness Statement and Who Gets a Copy If a vehicle was involved, the licence plate number, color and type of vehicle and any injuries.A description of each of the people who were involved in the crime - hair color and length, build/weight, height, female or male and race.Names and addresses of the people involved, if you know them.The exact time and location where the crime took place.The police will ask you questions including: If you decide to report the crime to the police, they will need all the details you can remember. Information to Include in Your Witness Statement Police will help support you as a witness. Witness statements help police find and arrest the right person. Witness StatementĪ witness statement is a report to the police about a crime that you saw or believe you saw. If you are the victim of a crime, or a witness who needs support or help in making a statement to the police, you can call a victim service worker by calling VictimLinkBC at 1-80. It can be difficult to make a statement to the police, especially if you are providing information about a crime that may have been committed by a family member, loved one or friend. A statement given by a witness, including a victim, is referred to as a witness statement.Įven if you have not reported a crime, you may be contacted by the police if they believe you may have information about a crime. Your lawyers can advise you on the law, but often dispute cases rely on the strength of the evidence.įor further advice on witness statements or help in resolving a dispute, contact our specialist dispute management team on 01 or email us.When you report a crime to police, you will be asked to provide a statement. This will also help your lawyers do the best job possible for you. If you’re involved in litigation, it can pay dividends to write a draft statement as early as possible, of all the facts as you remember them. This may seem unnecessary, but this new nugget is there to protect the witness, to ensure both lawyer and witness are satisfied the statement is a true recollection of events in the witness’s own words. Witness statements have to be read by a lawyer, to confirm they comply with ‘the Statement of Best Practice’ – and they must sign the ‘Certificate of Compliance’ to say they have done so. Witness statements shouldn’t include reams of documents unless it illustrates a material fact that proves/disproves something in the dispute.ħ. Trying to get it to word-perfect might corrupt recollection.Ħ. Witness statements shouldn’t take endless drafts before submission. When taking down details from a witness to write a statement, lawyers should use open questions and should not use leading questions to put words into a witness’s mouth or try to get a witness to say something the lawyer wants to hear.ĥ. Pro-forma questionnaires can rarely allow for the uniqueness of every person’s testimony and should be avoided.Ĥ. Witness statements should (where possible) be prepared with the witness personally, letting the witness explain, and getting down an account that’s both concise, but in the witness’s own “True Voice”. They should say only what they are happy to say.ģ. Witnesses shouldn’t be under any pressure. Sadly, sometimes witnesses suggest they know something when actually, they’ve just heard it on the grapevine.Ģ. Witnesses should only be giving evidence on facts they know. Here’s what a witness needs to know for the preparation of the all-important witness statement, as reiterated by the new rules:ġ. In April 2021, the legal rules on how to prepare and submit witness statements for litigation cases in the Business and Property Courts changed, largely so all preparing statements follow a common-sense approach to best-practice when writing statements, to ensure statements are truthful and accurate. There’s only a limited time allocated to the hearing of evidence, therefore, courts often prefer when witnesses are accurate but concise. A witness is involved to provide an honest account on the relevant facts within their personal knowledge. The role of the Court is to get to the truth of a matter no more, no less. The role of witness statements in court proceedings In this blog, we share some key points to consider when writing a statement, and what witnesses need to be aware of. This can be a daunting prospect for witnesses, especially with legal rules that must be followed on how a witness statement should be prepared. When a litigation matter continues on to court proceedings, witnesses are called upon to provide evidence.
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