AIBU to be alarmed after a defendant contacted me?

[ShapeofanLonmyforehead]

I was a witness for an incident that took place near my home some months ago. It ended up going to court and although I didn’t attend in person, my statement was provided in court. I was assured it was all anonymous as the person in question is violent.

fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, this individual has written to me from prison (not yet sentenced) offering me money to write to them. The letter is hand written and contains my full name and address. I am absolutely livid that they’ve somehow got my information, I’ve rang the police who sent me a text later on to say it’s a non-reportable crime.. and the witness support agent person emailed to say she’s passed the information on to the case lead, but I’ve heard nothing back in weeks and I just want to know how in the world he got my information and why he’s been allowed to write to me with bribes.

I have two young kids at home, the last thing I want is some POS contacting me.

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

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.

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?

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.

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!

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

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?

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?

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.

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 .

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 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.

This

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.

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.

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

This needs to be explained quite clearly to people

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.

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.

I agree with all of this. So in a criminal case, in general a defendant (and their legal team) would know the name of someone giving a statement against them but not their address.

I'm a little surprised that you were told that your statement would be anonymous. I was a witness in a case which involved violence, and was given no choice about providing my full address, to be read out in court if I remember correctly. I wasn't happy about it either.

This is shocking but not surprising, when I was seriously sexually assaulted by a stranger I was informed by the police that he had been told my name. By whom I never found out, the police themselves, his defence solicitor ? I have an unusual name it would be relatively easy to find me. I came off social media where I used my real name and also went onto the closed electoral roll. It is awful that witneesses and victims are put at risk in this way. Please take this higher, it is a dangerous breach of confidentiality

And imagine if that database got hacked!

Honestly… contact your MP, you may be in danger and they are the only ones who can put pressure on the police/victim support to deal. With this, otherwise your case may be languishing in the to do folder for months to come.

Get back onto witness support. Contact CPS, tell them you’re a witness and the defendant has contacted you directly. Call the prison and ask to be put on his no contact list. I’d report to the police again, it’s witness intimidation. Also contact your Police and crime commissioner and local counsellor/MP.

The response to your situation is appalling.