CJS working together for the public

You might be asked to give evidence in court if you:

• know something about a particular crime, incident or dispute, for example because you saw it happen;
• know one of the people involved in a case, you could be asked to be a character witness. You would be asked to answer questions about, for example, how well you know the person and whether he or she is trustworthy.

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.

You can report what you know about a crime in a number of ways:

• Dialling 999 in an emergency
• Dialling the number of your local police station, which can be found in the telephone directory.
• Dropping into your local police station.
• Or by ringing Crime-stoppers on 0800 555 111

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.

You can contact Victim Support on 0845 30 30 900 or www.victimsupport.org.

If you are or know a victim of crime you might find the Victims Walkthrough helpful.

If it is an emergency (e.g. there is a crime in progress) you should call 999. However if it is not an emergency you should contact your local police station. You should be able to phone them at any time and their number can be found in your local phone directory. If you would prefer to go to the police station you need to check what their opening times are before you go.

Yes. It is a good idea to write down what you saw or what you know at the time of the incident and keep this information in a safe place.

You should tell the police as many of the following as you can:

• as much information as possible about the incident (e.g. location, time, descriptions of those involved);
• who the victim is and if you have any contact details for the victim.
• if you are worried about your own or your family's safety, so the police can give you advice;
• if you think the offence was a hate crime (e.g. racially motivated) or of a sexual nature;
• details of any other witnesses; and
• your contact details in case the police need to speak to you again.

And later you should tell the police if you:

• change your address or telephone number.
• notice any other changes since the incident for example further damage to property.
• receive any threats or become worried about your safety.
• remember something else or have more information about the incident.

Yes. If the police have not given you a reference number, ask for one. The reference number will be either a crime reference number or an incident number. You can quote this number whenever you contact the police and they will either be able to tell you what is happening or put you in touch with the relevant investigating officer or police caseworker.