Your rights as a witness

The Witness Charter sets out the basic standards of service you can expect from the criminal justice system in England and Wales as a witness of crime.

As a witness you are helping to ensure that justice is done. You may be asked to give evidence in court for the prosecution or defence. If you know one of the people involved in a case, you may be asked to provide evidence as a character witness.

What is the Witness Charter?

The Witness Charter details how, as a witness, you can expect to be treated by the police if you are a witness to a crime or incident. The Charter applies to all witnesses of a crime and to character witnesses. It does not include expert witnesses.

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. It does not cover the work of judges and magistrates.

Although the standards in this Charter are not legally binding, they set out the level of service that you can expect as a witness.

What does the Witness Charter include?

Key standards of care for witnesses include:

• being treated with dignity and respect at all times
• having a main point of contact who will keep you informed of the progress of the case and will either provide support or refer you to relevant support agencies
• the ability to claim expenses for travel to and from the court and compensation for loss of earnings incurred as a result of attending court
• having a needs assessment conducted to identify any help you may need to give evidence during the investigation or in court
• receiving special measures if you are considered to be a vulnerable or intimidated witness. These may include allowing you to give evidence from outside of the courtroom via videolink, and the removal of wigs and gowns by judges, defence and prosecution advocates
• being given information, or details of where information can be found, about the court and the court process

If you are a victim of a crime and have been called as a witness, you have specific legal entitlements that are set out in the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code).

If you are the parent or guardian of a child who is a witness, information about this process is available in the Young Witness Pack. We will give you a copy of this pack or tell you where it can be found.

If you feel your rights have not been met

If you are a witness of crime and are unhappy with the service you have recieved you can complain directly to the criminal justice agency concerned, such as your local police force or the Crown Prosecution Service.

If you are still dissatisfied, you can raise the complaint to your local MP and ask them to refer it to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints relating to the Victims’ Code. However they will not consider cases directly from a member of the public. Find your local MP.

Useful resources and further information

• View a list of support services in your local area
• The Witness Charter: standards of care for witnesses in the criminal justice system – statutory guidance published by the Ministry of Justice
• The Victims’ Code – this explains the rights you can expect to receive as a victim of crime
• Help and support in court – you can contact the Citizens Advice witness service for help and support in court
  

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