{"id":697,"date":"2020-11-04T13:23:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T13:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/?page_id=697"},"modified":"2023-11-27T18:16:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T18:16:07","slug":"before-a-trial","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/going-court\/before-a-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Before a trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before a trial<\/h1>\n

When someone is charged with a crime that you saw, and you have given a witness statement, the police will pass your information to the local Witness Care Unit (WCU).<\/p>\n

Witness Care Units act as a single point of contact for all prosecution witnesses. They are located across England and Wales and are managed by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).<\/p>\n

The WCU will assign you a witness care officer to keep you informed about the progress of your case and support you throughout the process. Right up until the case is concluded, your witness care officer will be your point of contact.<\/p>\n

Your witness care officer is also the person who will tell you if you have to go to court to give evidence. They should tell you the time and place of the trial, and discuss any particular help or support you might need.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve given a written statement to the police, but you haven\u2019t heard from the WCU, let the police know. If you can\u2019t go to court on the date or at the time of the trial \u2013 perhaps because you can\u2019t get time off work, you\u2019re not well, you have planned hospital treatment or you are going on holiday \u2013 you should tell the WCU immediately so that they can tell the prosecution and the court.<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Extra help at court<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\n

If you think you need\u00a0extra help at court<\/a>\u00a0to give your evidence, such as help with a disability, an interpreter or support with any other additional needs, you should discuss it with your witness care officer.<\/p>\n

This extra help could be special measures, which are designed to help you give your best evidence at court. If the court agrees, you may be able to use special measures such as screens in the courtroom, communication aids, and giving your evidence via a live video link.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>More about what to expect at court<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\n

You can get information about courts and their facilities online, from\u00a0Her Majesty\u2019s Courts Service court finder<\/a>. There are plenty of other online resources to give you information about court.<\/p>\n

You can also receive support and information before, during and after a trial from the\u00a0witness service<\/a>. The witness service is run by Citizens Advice and is based in every criminal court in England and Wales. They can arrange for you to visit the court before the trial starts, to see what it’s like and find out what you can expect to happen on the day of the trial. A lot of people find that this helps to give them confidence before they testify.<\/p>\n

If the trial is taking place at the Crown Court, the customer service officer will be able to give you information and help make preparations for your visit.<\/p>\n

The Government has also produced a\u00a0Witness Charter<\/a>, which sets out the basic standards of service you can expect from the criminal justice system if you are called as a witness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>On the day of the trial<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Before you set off for the court, check that you have all the information that you\u2019ve been sent about the case, such as the letter asking you to be a witness and the names of any key people you\u2019ve been dealing with.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good idea to bring something to keep you occupied, such as a book or magazine, as you may have to wait some time before giving your evidence. It is also worth having some money on you for refreshments or car parking.<\/p>\n

You may also find it comforting to bring a friend or relative \u2013 you don\u2019t have to attend court alone. If you\u2019re giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court, also known as the Old Bailey, you will need to let them know in advance that you are bringing someone with you.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Help and support<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\n

Get help and support from the\u00a0Citizens Advice witness service<\/a>. Call\u00a00300 332 1000<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":275,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-697","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBefore a trial - Victim Support<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/going-court\/before-a-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Before a trial - Victim Support\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/going-court\/before-a-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Victim Support\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/victimsupport\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-27T18:16:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/VS-social-sharing-neutral.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1601\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1056\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@VictimSupport\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/going-court\/before-a-trial\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.victimsupport.org.uk\/going-court\/before-a-trial\/\",\"name\":\"Before a trial - 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