AIBU to let the police arrest me instead of going to court

[Arren12]

Hi all,

I witnessed a crime take place last year. Someone was injured. That's as much detail as il give.
I was just in the place at the time minding my own business but did see the aftermath and a bit of the actual crime. I was very shaken up at the time so cannot recall exactly what happened as it was fast and scary.

The police took my details. I then felt pressured by the police to give a statement. I told the police at the time I was scared to give one and that id rather not but they asked me to do the right thing so I did.

It has now gone to court and I have been summoned to give evidence face to face. I have contacted cps to inform them that I'm scared to give evidence and that I really feel that my anxiety will prevent me from giving a correct account.

Witness support have offered me no support with this despite me contacting them.

The thing is the perp of the crime knows who I am and it will be obvious its me giving the evidence even if I went behind a curtain because I was literally the only one there. Its not even that the perp will retaliate, though that is a possibility I suppose, its that I see this person I have no choice but to face them regularly, I'm not new to court as I do go through work but I am just so anxious about all this process and saying the wrong thing and the judge grilling me etc..

I feel sick with this. I have explained I also need to be there for my disabled child at the time of the case but they say they will wait for me as its important. They keep basically saying tough you have to turn up.

I haven't slept for ages because of this im so worried. I do have mental health issues and have had breakdowns in the past but I have been well for the last few months and this is sending me over the edge.

I'm honestly thinking of not turning up.

How likely is it that il get arrested?

@Arren12

Well obviously I will have to go.

People on here have clearly never faced this or been scared and anxious etc

I don’t want to respond to this the way I actually feel because if would be too rude. But it’s really not ok to go around making such horrible and frankly ridiculous statements about others. Just do the bare bloody minimum as a citizen and stop thinking you’re the only one who has felt this way

[quote Arren12]@RantyAunty I do not know the victim but I do know the perp. It could be an ex or my boss or a local shopkeeper or a neighbor or a relatives partner or a school parent...does it really matter. I see then alot I can't avoid that, I'm not making it up[/quote]
You sound pretty certain that they won't be given a custodial sentence then. How do you know this?

Sorry, but we are lucky enough to live in a democratic society. The price we pay for this is that we all have a civil duty to attend court to give evidence if asked. This is how our justice system has worked for centuries.

I spent a lot of time working for the Police and the courts in my previous career and the amount of cases I saw get thrown out because witnesses couldn't be bothered to turn up was absolutely sickening. Consequently, there's a lot more guilty people walking around then there should be.

Contempt of court is something taken extremely seriously so if you've often wondered what the inside of a cell looks like, then by all means, don't bother attending court. If I were you, I'd suck it up, go give evidence, then go home and forget about it. If your anxiety is that bad, then contact the Witness Care Unit at your local police station and ask for support from them as they can apply for special measures for you (i.e. giving evidence from behind a screen) but there's no guarantee the judge will grant it so it may be that you've just got to give evidence on the witness stand the same as everyone else.

Hopefully, if ever you yourself are the victim of a serious crime, the people who witness it will take a more responsible attitude and actually attend court to give evidence to ensure that you see justice done.

I'm sorry if I don't sound sympathetic but I'm afraid if everyone was too anxious to give evidence at court then the entire British justice system would just grind to a halt and nobody would get prosecuted for anything.

@Arren12

Well obviously I will have to go.

People on here have clearly never faced this or been scared and anxious etc

OP, my son had to testify in court last year. He was the victim and shit scared despite not doing anything wrong. I would be scared testifying too

@HeronLanyon wouldn't retribution risk lessen too post-trial if the person were given a suspended vs custodial sentence.

I'm thinking if OP were threatened and reported that to the police the suspended sentence would likely be revoked?

Oops pushed it too early
In addition to special measures which can protect a fearful witness - screens assistance in court et cetera there is also provision for your witness statement to be read to the court rather than you attend to give evidence. Obviously the defence will object to this because you would then not be able to be cross examined and your evidence challenged. The decision about whether this would be allowed is takenBy the judge in a pre-trial hearing in the absence of the defendant where are you would give evidence to the judge about your fear the reasons for it and so on. The defence would object to a statement being read. You would still have given evidence but not come to court to do so live in person. During that hearing if the judge rules against allowing your witness statement to be read the crown may take the view that they do not wish to call you as a witness as your evidence may be unreliable through fear. So quite a few things could happen.
Obviously the above is all in real summary and very speculative because I don’t know anything about your case or the severity of the allegation et cetera
Raise your fear with the officer in the case And request that the possibility of your statement being read being raised with the crowns barrister.
Good luck op We all of us rely on people giving evidence I myself have given evidence a couple of times and have had similar fears to you.

@Flowers500 I never said I was the only one who had ever felt this way of course not but clearly some posters in here have not. If they had then they would not be answering in the way they have. Its hardly the bare minimum is it? Are people not allowed to be scared and anxious?

I know how you feel. I once didn’t go to the police because my brain was a shocked mess, I didn’t process what I saw. I knew it was useless. My input was pretty much ‘can’t remember his face, anything really, just a flash of car moving and my panic/ eyes closing’
I was identified as a witness and really pushed to say what I saw, tons of closed questions and repeating them so I was ‘I think…Er… yes’ under presume.
I was then in a panic about being forced to give potentially incorrect/ useless input. The anxiety was consuming.
Ultimately you need to accept though it’s pretty inescapable and use some of the suggested ways to manage this.
Sorry it’s horrible

If you don't go... its highly likely you'll be tracked down and arrested on the day - which can depending on where you are at the time, be traumatic and pretty mortifying.

An ex of mine thought he'd be clever and refuse to give evidence - he was hauled out of his work place mid shift, front of house in a busy restaurant.

He'd lied and said his boss wouldn't give him time off but in fact hadn't even told his boss, so this was the first they knew of it - predictably, he didn't have a job to return to after that.

He also spent a day and a half in cells, which I can't imagine was a lot of fun.

The person you are giving evidence about already knows you are doing this, unless you can retract your statement (which they'd also then know about and you probably can't), its highly likely if they are going to go after you after the court case, they are going to do so anyway based simply on you giving the statement.

Giving evidence and turning up as a witness, making it clear you are scared to do so and fear reprisals will likely get you a lot more protection than trying to retract and hiding away.

I think the tough love being doled out here would be a lot easier for OP to take if it were actually accompanied by some practical suggestions for steps she can take to safeguard herself.

Also I have given evidence in a professional capacity many many times. This is just because this is personal and its very different

@PurpleNebula84

Contact witness care and the officer in the case and tell them you wish to retract your evidence. Maybe even take a trip to the magistrates where it is due to be heard and speak to one of the Clerk's. They might be able to get you in with a magistrate to voice your concerns. The other option is turn up, swear your affirmation but don't answer anything - they might be able to make you go, but they can't make you speak - ideally they should be able to sort it out before it comes to that.

Please ignore this utterly terrible advice OP.

First of all, only a victim can withdraw a complaint/evidence as they're the one that has had a crime committed against them. That said, the Crown Prosecution Service can choose to go ahead with a victimless prosecution in the event that the crime is so serious/concerning that they feel it is still in the public interest to prosecute even without the co-operation of the victim.

A witness (as the OP is in this case) cannot "withdraw" a statement as by doing so, they're effectively saying that what they said in their original statement is untrue. So it's likely they'll be called to court to explain themselves anyway.

Secondly, if you rock up at court and then stand mute in the witness box then the judge is well within their right to interpret your silence as contempt of court. This will likely result in you having to spend a bit of time in the cells to have a think about whether you really want to continue being disrespectful to the court before you're given the opportunity to return to the witness box.

I would be as scared and nervous as you are

I’d worry about repercussions

But also, in all honesty, I think I’d do it. Is there part of your statement that you can make clear that you were forced to supply the witness statement?

That way the perp knows you are not there as a personal vendetta against him, but as a reluctant witness

Also, it seems unlikely he’d come after you, as he’d gain nothing from that (just another court case/prison!) he’ll probably want to stay low profile

Should he ever threaten you, go to police immediately

This is a really good lesson to people not to provide a witness statement to the police unless they are willing to attend court if required to give evidence. As soon as the statement is signed, there is nothing you can do to avoid potentially finding yourself in this position - it will be out of your hands. I know it's too late for OP but hopefully it will help others understand the risks.

I feel for you OP, talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

@HeronLanyon has made some good suggestions though. Please consider them, at the very least you'll be trying to regain some control for yourself.

I would be petrified too, and all sorts of options would run through my head, even the crazy which you'd never rationally do if you weren't so scared.

I truly wish you luck.

OP I'm really sorry that you're having to go through this. I can hazard a guess that the majority of those giving you a hard time over this have never had to do it themselves. Looking after your mental health is important, keep contacting witness support and contact the court to see what support they can offer you.

I used to work in witness care, it was rare that a witness who failed to attend had any repercussions, not unheard of, but rare.

@Arren12

Also I have given evidence in a professional capacity many many times. This is just because this is personal and its very different

Surely you knew then that once you make a statement to police you can be called to give evidence if the case goes to trial?

I do understand why you’re so terrified. I don’t know there’s much you can do about it now. Unless you really are prepared to take the consequences of not testifying.

@OppsUpsSide

I used to work in witness care, it was rare that a witness who failed to attend had any repercussions, not unheard of, but rare.

Good to know.

This is just not true. It’s what the police think because they think defence lawyers are scum.
If a case ends up with a guilty plea on the day, it’s down to the defendant. Defendants string it along. Most don’t want to plead guilty and, shock horror, lots aren’t. The police will never accept this because they are always convinced they’ve got their man, even if they don’t understand the law well enough to know if an offence has been committed.
The easiest thing to do as a defence lawyer is agree with your client who wants to plead not guilty. The hardest thing is making them trust you enough to accept they should plead guilty.
We advise a guilty plea if they have a defence- even if the police don’t understand what it is!

(That was meant for the cop who was told by a cop it was all the defence lawyers trying to make money)

I'm sorry OP, you seem to be getting alot of high handed comments.

I have been the position of being called to give evidence in court following a violent crime. I was very anxious and I didn't have to face any one afterwards.

Totally natural to be worried and to not want to put your family in harm's way.

In my case the plea was changed to guilty when the person charged knew witnesses were there. I really hope this happens for you.
I know you would still be fearful afterwards.

Like others, i can only really offer sympathy and urge you to follow up with with witness support.

@Dontstress

This is just not true. It’s what the police think because they think defence lawyers are scum. If a case ends up with a guilty plea on the day, it’s down to the defendant. Defendants string it along. Most don’t want to plead guilty and, shock horror, lots aren’t. The police will never accept this because they are always convinced they’ve got their man, even if they don’t understand the law well enough to know if an offence has been committed. The easiest thing to do as a defence lawyer is agree with your client who wants to plead not guilty. The hardest thing is making them trust you enough to accept they should plead guilty. We advise a guilty plea if they have a defence- even if the police don’t understand what it is!

Of course the Police know the law enough to know if an offence has been committed. Typical ridiculous statement by a defence solicitor.

@Dontstress

This is just not true. It’s what the police think because they think defence lawyers are scum. If a case ends up with a guilty plea on the day, it’s down to the defendant. Defendants string it along. Most don’t want to plead guilty and, shock horror, lots aren’t. The police will never accept this because they are always convinced they’ve got their man, even if they don’t understand the law well enough to know if an offence has been committed. The easiest thing to do as a defence lawyer is agree with your client who wants to plead not guilty. The hardest thing is making them trust you enough to accept they should plead guilty. We advise a guilty plea if they have a defence- even if the police don’t understand what it is!

I really hope the last part of that post - that you advise a guilty plea if they have a defence - is a typo, otherwise you would be a truly terrible lawyer!

@Aqua55

Just ignore the summons. It's not like they know who you are or where you live, and being in contempt of court would just be a slap on the wrist anyway.

Are you for real?