Q. When could I be considered as being 'a witness'?
A: In most cases, you will be considered 'a witness' and may have to give evidence
in court if you know something about a particular crime, incident or dispute. For
example, you may have seen it happen or you may be the victim of the crime. In some
cases, however, you might be asked to go to court as a 'character witness' if you
know one of the people involved in the case. You will be asked to answer questions
about, for example, how well you know the person and whether he or she is trustworthy.
Those with specialist knowledge of a subject may also be asked to give evidence,
such as medical practitioners. They are known as 'expert witnesses'.
Q. Might I have to attend an identity parade?
A: If the police have a suspect for an offence and the identity of that person is
in dispute, they may wish to carry out an identity parade. In this case, you will
be asked to pick out the person who you think committed the alleged offence. In
order to carry out the parade, the police would use a video identification parade
- commonly known as a 'PROMAT video identification parade'.
This means that the identification parade is prepared in the form of a digital disc
and will be shown to you by the police officer on a laptop or computer or a DVD
and television set. The advantage of this electronic process is that you can view
the parade in places other than the police station, such as at home, should you
prefer.
Q. What if I do not recognise the person I saw committing the crime?
A: When you have finished viewing the entire parade twice you will be asked to make
a positive identification of who you saw committing the crime. If you do not recognise
the person then you should tell the viewing officer in charge.
Q. How do I tell the viewing officer which one I have picked out as the committer
of the crime?
A: As each video clip plays a number will be shown in the top left hand corner.
Each number corresponds to the video clip being shown. When and if you recognise
the suspect you have simply to say the number that was displayed in the top left
hand corner at the time you saw the clip. You can tell the officer straight away
or wait until the entire parade has been viewed.
Q. Do I have to go to the police station to view the parade?
A: If you are elderly or unwell then the parade viewing can be brought to you. The
PROMAT system is fully portable and can be viewed on a laptop computer / tablet
PC or IPAD device.
Q. Will I have to see the suspect?
A: With the advent of Video Identification you no longer have to face the suspect,
instead you will be taken to a safe location where you will be shown a 3 minute
video sequence which will display the suspect and a number of other volunteers.
Q. Can I bring anyone with me to the viewing for support?
A: You can indeed bring people with you for support but unfortunately they will
not be allowed into the viewing room itself for the duration of the video being
played. You can discuss this matter with the identification department before you
attend if you like.
Q. what happens after the video identification parade?
A: After you have watched the video clips, you can leave the room. One of the police
officers, or a different police officer, may write down what happened when you watched
the video clips. This is called a statement and there is no need to worry about
this.
Q. If I picked out a person you may want to know if you were right.
A: The police officer is not allowed to tell you this but you will have done an
important job anyway.
Q. what happens next?
A: When the Video Identification Parade is finished, a lawyer will decide what to
do next. Someone will tell you what will happen.
Q. what if I am worried about things after the parade?
A: There are lots of people who can help you. You can talk to someone in your family,
the police officer you have spoken to, a teacher, a social worker, or someone else.
They can tell the lawyer about any worries you may have.