AIBU to be alarmed after a defendant contacted me?

When people wonder why so many people who witness crimes choose not to come forward this, THIS is why!

This is absolutely not ok and I cannot believe the response is so dismissive. Other PPs have given good advice to escalate this further.

This is not correct at all. I used to work in criminal defence. The addresses of witnesses would not usually be included in a witness statement (for obvious reasons) and therefore would not usually be disclosed to the defence legal team. Any defendant in criminal proceedings is entitled to see all statements by prosecution witnesses. If the address of a witness has been included in someone's statement then it would be an error on the part of the CPS/police, not the defence lawyers.

This needs to be explained quite clearly to people

Bloody hell.
Why can't people just do their jobs properly? Especially when dealing with violent people.

The other day I watched a Netflix true crime story about Dr Caroline Muirhead who was used and abandoned by Police Scotland. It was a shocking watch. Awful and scary.

Please please complain immediately.

Write to your MP. This is a massive GDPR breach. Either the CPS or the Police have disclosed your address. Maybe go and see a solicitor if you do t get any response from the Police or CPS.

This

So sorry op. This is absolutely horrific and you must be so worried.

I once reported someone for benefit fraud. He was absolutely loaded and bragged about it so I reported it. I was guaranteed with absolute certainty that it was 100% anonymous. Nope. They contacted him, he knew exactly how to hide his huge income, and then they told him it was me. He took me to court over it (nothing came of it, he was just a massive bully who enjoyed intimidating people).

I now stay out of thinga and mind my own business as nothing in the UK is truly anonymous.

Good luck op. This is scary stuff.

Yes, you do. I work in courts as part of my job, and the name of witnesses - even ones who don't appear but just give statements - are always read out in full. No addresses, but it's not always as difficult to find someone's address as you might think.

Their names will also appear in evidence bundles which defendants will of course have access to. It's fair that if someone is giving evidence which could help convict you, you are able to know who they are. For instance, a witness could also be someone with a grudge against you, or someone who you can prove is unreliable for some other reason.

The only exception is if the judge agrees to a witness anonymity order, but those are very rare

https://www.cps.gov.uk/prosecution-guidance/witness-protection-and-anonymity

So, this letter constitutes: witness intimidation, a massive GDPR breach, perverting the course of justice, and a security failing by the prison!

Absolutely shocking. I’m sorry you’re in this situation, OP, hope you get it sorted .

If this is so, it strikes at the heart of our justice system.

Who in their right mind is going to come forward and give evidence against an offender if they know that they will later be a sitting duck.

If you get no-where, contact the judge in the case and/or your MP, as well as the Head of Chambers of both the defence and prosecution.

Also, send a link to this thread to the Chief Constable and the Justice Secretary, Alex Norris.

OP this is so scary, I’m so sorry.

WHY are witnesses names given to defendants?! They should never be given witnesses information, why are solicitors passing it on? I genuinely don’t understand? Can any solicitors shed any light? Surely it’s obvious that puts witnesses in danger?

You definitely need to escalate this. He should not have been allowed to send you that letter from prison.

I thought though that people were given details of witnesses etc. Dont you have the right to know who said what if you are being prosecuted? Part of your right to defend yourself?

Echoing all the sensible advice you’ve been given OP - keep calling until you speak to someone.

I’d be worrying about who else the person has given your information to

Similar happened to me many years ago thanks to the most stupid of police blunders. My husband now calls our local police the Keystone Cops.

In my situation I was also the victim of the crime, but the perpetrator had no idea of my name or address until the police - who had warned me to be super careful about remaining anonymous as the man was habitually armed - gave him my details while interviewing him. Even though they found my property on him, they took six months to actually charge him, allowing him to walk around town with a knife in his back pocket.

I hope you get better answers than I got, OP!

That would be helpful. But it would require all Vs and Ws to be recorded in a central system and for that system to link to the prison system, and for all letters to be checked individually. All of which would be expensive and time consuming and doesn’t and probably never will happen.

Wouldn't this be something AI could actually be useful for?

Check if the name of the reciever doesn't match any witness or victim, and flag up if it does?

There are no legitimate reasons for the convicted defendant to have access to a witness’s address though are there? No doubt it’s not deliberate, but it’s still a serious error.

That’s if you give them the information. If you don’t they will never know.

I would write to the judge before the man is sentenced. They will be very unimpressed and will probably ask the defendant, defence team and CPS for an explanation which might get you an answer quicker. Having googled it, they may be able to treat it as witness intimidation as proceedings are not concluded until he has been sentenced. It's unlikely he'd be prosecuted for witness intimidation, as his letter wasn't threatening, but it may affect sentencing and put the wind up the defendant. You should also contact the officer who brought the case as they would probably want to know about it.

Wow, this is quite shocking. As well as what you’ve done already you should contact the prison and the public protection team at HMPPS.

Contact the service by email:
[email protected]
Or telephone:
tel:0300 060 6699 0300 060 6699
Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm

The prison can be contacted directly, you can let them know that you are a witness and he wrote to you, it will be taken seriously as his behaviour in prison will be monitored and I can guarantee this will go on his notes inside. If any of the lads did this in the prison I worked in they would get in deep shit. Contacting and witness manipulation is a crime. They are trying to commit a crime whist in prison, this is very serious and the prison staff will now monitor his communication and post carefully !

DH respectfully disagrees. Another crime has been committed and needs dealing with. This is a serious GDPR breach and potential safeguarding issue

I've heard of this happening enough times to put me off ever being a witness, which is terrible but I have no faith in the system at all.

I’m not sure it requires the 999 emergency number.

It’s not like he’s going anywhere for now.

I would definitely be reporting it though.