You should always seek legal advice before making an official statement, whether at the scene, on the phone or at a police station.
As mentioned above, a statement is a legal document that may be used in the prosecution of an alleged assailant, and making a false or misleading statement may put you in breach of the law. Before you decide to give a statement, it is important to understand that NSW Police can advance with a domestic violence charge whether the alleged victim cooperates or not.
The reason for this policy is to protect victims of domestic abuse who protect abusive partners or refuse to take the matter to the courts out of fear of reprisal. Police will usually have enough evidence to lay charges upon the alleged offender. For example, a verbal complaint is theoretically all that they need to charge someone with a criminal offence.
Police will follow up on any complaint made by an alleged victim of domestic violence, however minor it may seem, so before you make a statement, it is best to contact an experienced criminal lawyer for legal support. If you have already given a statement and wish to rectify it, you should call a criminal lawyer for advice.
It is not unusual for victims or witnesses to attempt to make changes to their statement, or withdraw them entirely, particularly if the defendant has multiple prior offences and is facing possible jail time. The police officer overseeing a case has the authority to strike a statement from the record, however, you should contact a criminal lawyer before approaching police. It is essential you have an experienced professional offering advice, and guiding you through a difficult and, at times, intimidating process.
Withdrawal of a witness statement does not guarantee that the changes will be dropped. It is a common occurrence in these kinds of cases for the victim to either recant their statement or express a desire for the alleged offender not to be criminally prosecuted, however, the NSW Police have a policy in place that requires them to proceed with charges where there is sufficient evidence that a crime has taken place, and if they believe it is in the public interest to proceed.
If so, prosecution will proceed regardless of whether the alleged victim withdraws their complaint or not. If a loved one has been charged with a crime relating to a domestic violence incident, they should call an experienced Criminal Defence Lawyer for help in defending the charge. No, not always. It depends on the nature of the case, how strong the evidence of the case is and what statements have been given.
Sometimes, despite evidence reliable or not that an incident of domestic violence has occurred, the police will exercise discretion and not lay criminal charges. It could be because they no longer want the defendant to face proceedings, have forgiven them, reconciled with them, due to a fear of reprisals, witness intimidation, anxiety caused by a forthcoming court case or because they lack support and information about an impending court case.
Once a witness has given a statement, it is not a matter for them to decide how the case against the defendant should proceed. In practical terms they cannot make the case worse or more lenient for the defendant as the damage has already been done! Equally, the withdrawing of support by a victim or witness is not the same as that person saying that they have lied. If a victim or witness admits to lying, they are admitting to making a false statement, which in turn can mean they may be arrested and prosecuted for perverting the course of justice.
If the witness wants to go ahead and withdraw their support for the prosecution, they will have to contact the police or Crown Prosecution Service CPS directly and make a request to make a statement of withdrawal. Statements of withdrawal of support can subsequently be used as evidence in current or future criminal proceedings, or as evidence within the family court system. These statements are retained as information that might be relevant to future investigations.
However, if after receiving a request from the investigator or prosecutor the witness refuses to cooperate, the prosecutor can consider whether to make an application for a witness summons. The other option at this stage is that the prosecution may decide not to take it any further and drop the case. Where the decision has been made to continue the case, the prosecution may apply for a witness summons to compel a witness to give evidence. This can be done before the court hearing or even on the day of the hearing itself, and usually when the prosecution has been made aware that the witness is unwilling to cooperate.
We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. You can change your cookie settings at any time. This can be read out in court. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies.
0コメント