Taking photos of police statement - trigger warning

[ToThineOwnSelf]

Not sure if this is the right place for this but I’m not sure where to put it.

I reported that I had been raped to the police earlier in the year. While they were out of the room I took a photo of every page of my statement which they had written out. I wanted to be able to look back at all the details case it ends up going to court.

Was this wrong to do, and should I not tell anyone in the police or the prosecutors office that I did this?

I'm sorry for what you went through.

They are your words so I can't see why you did anything wrong. Why do you feel you should mention it? I wouldn't.

Nope, this is not wrong or illegal.

You did nothing wrong at all.
Don't worry.
Well done on reporting it and I'm so sorry for what you have been through.
Have you had some support?

Well done on doing this, it is a difficult and brave thing. However, please have a read of this www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/witness-statements-and-memory-refreshing.

You will be given a copy of your statement before the trial. Please don't do anything to jeopardize your case - you've come this far.

hi op, firstly sorry that happened to you and well done for reporting.

you didnt need to take pictures - if the case goes to court you will get handed to you a copy of your statement anyway so you can refresh your memory.

it is a restricted document - by that i mean once your words are on that official documentation (the MG 11 form that is statement paper) it is restricted meaning only people with the relevant clearance should see it.

hope that helps some.

You were probably on camera op. There were discrete cameras there when I gave my statement.

Thanks for all the supportive and helpful replies.

hellsbellsmelons yes, I am on a waiting list, thank you.

bibblethebauble that’s a good point. Oh well, they didn’t say anything about it in subsequent phone calls. Sorry to hear you have gone through something similar.

It sounds like a smart idea to me. It's not unheard of for parts of statements to go "missing". I'm not saying that would happen here of course, but it's always good to have your own record of things.

I'm afraid it's not a smart idea it's a fast track to compromising the case if any one sees it who shouldn't .

Victim statements do not just go missing and more and more nowadays they are held electronically on systems so there is a record at all times.

It's really not a good idea and you always see your statement before court plus , your victim impact statement is read out either by you or the barrister.

You're able to read it again or in my case watch a 4 hour interview of yourself prior. They'll also ask if there's anything else you can recall or if there's any mistakes.
Don't allow anyone else to see it whatsoever.
Good luck and well done on reporting it, it's not easy. Hope the bastard goes down.

All the pages had numbers written on them so I wouldn’t think parts could go missing. I haven’t showed it to anyone and I won’t.

looselipssinkships thank you, and I like your username! Sorry to hear you have been through similar.