The Witness Charter: standards of care for witnesses in the criminal justice system
How you can expect to be treated by the police if you are a witness to a crime or incident, and if you are asked to give evidence in a criminal court.
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The Witness Charter has been developed to tell you how, as a witness, you can expect to be treated by the police if you are a witness to a crime or incident. It also covers subsequent standards of care for other criminal justice agencies and lawyers if you are asked to give evidence for the prosecution, or defence, in a criminal court.
The charter sets out what help and support you can expect to receive at every stage of the process from all the agencies and lawyers involved, although it does not cover the work of judges and magistrates.
Updates to this page
Published 1 March 2008Last updated 10 December 2013 + show all updates
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Addition of an easy read version of the charter.
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Updated in line with the new code of practice for victims of crime.
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First published.