Witnesses: The Most Precious Resource
| Author | N. A. McKittrick |
| DOI | 10.1177/002201838705100205 |
| Published date | 01 May 1987 |
| Date | 01 May 1987 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
WITNESSES: THE MOST PRECIOUS
RESOURCE
N.
A.
McKittrick*
The criminal justice system is almost totally dependent for its
effectiveness on the willingness
of
witnesses to come forward and
make a statement about what they saw, or heard, or otherwise
perceived. Sometimes the defendant will accept his guilt and the
witness’s statement will merely remain in the file, but if the case is
contested, then in many instances the witness will be required to
attend court to give evidence. The defence, the police, the Crown
Prosecution Service, the Probation Service-all professionals with
an interest in the workings
of
the criminal courts-have plenty to say
about the advantages or drawbacks
of
the process generally, but the
poor witness has been shamefully neglected
as
a focus for attention
for as long as anyone can remember.
It was therefore appropriate that a study should be undertaken to
assess the needs
of
the witness in-criminal courts, and to consider
what was lacking in the manner in which he was treated. Hence the
establishment by “Justice”
of
a committee under the chairmanship
of
Peter Crawford QC. Its report, “Witnesses in the Criminal
Courts” was published in
1986.’
The work
of
the committee focused on seven specific areas: (a)
the identification
of
potential witnesses and the taking
of
statements; (b) procedure to secure the attendance
of
witnesses at
court; (c) the accommodation and treatment
of
witnesses at court;
(d) the oath; (e) the provision and training
of
interpreters;
(f)
the
role
of
expert witnesses; (g) the calling
of
witnesses by the court.
Under the first heading the committee accepted that there was a
tendency for some witnesses not to want to get involved and yet for
most
of
the serious crimes, persons who had useful information to
give did come forward. The police were seen as doing all that could
reasonably be done to trace such persons and the merits
of
*
LL.
B.,
Solicitor, Clerk to the Justices, Peterborough
’
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