DV - Written or Video Victim Statement?

[Peony290]

I have reported my ex for domestic violence and SA and have to give my statement this week. They've asked if I'd prefer to do a video or a written statement and was wondering if anyone had any insights into the best option?
I've never done anything like this and extremely anxious so any advice is welcome.

Mine was a slightly different situation (sexual assault, not a DV case) but I opted for a video statement as the police officer who was dealing with my case said it was generally much quicker to do than a written statement. I was very nervous about it but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I made sure that I had something nice planned for afterwards too. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through

Hiya
I'm a detective working in domestic abuse.

The main difference is that if the matter proceeds to court, at court your video interview gets played as 'evidence in chief' and then further questions can be put to you from prosecution and defence.

If you give a written statement, you have to sort of talk through your evidence with the prosecution lawyer
For example:
Tell us what happened on the evening of...
What happened after that...
And tell the court how you felt...

Whereas all of that main stuff that you cover in the statement/video interview gets played, so you don't have to talk through it all (except the extra clarifying questions)

Does that make sense?

Apart from that, they're very similar. In the written statement you have more opportunities to clarify anything as you can read and re read it and check your wording is correct.

The written one can usually take less time and some people prefer them as they are over and done with sooner (sometimes it takes weeks to arrange a video interview).

Best of luck 💐

Oh and as a domestic/SA victim you will be eligible for special measures in court, such as giving evidence behind a screen so you don't have to look at your ex.

Thank you so much, that's really helpful! It's really overwhelming to try and understand/find out the differences and the police on my case (fairly) didn't want to lead me towards an option so thank you for explaining.
Can I ask, if I did a video interview can I have notes with me? The reason I ask is I had a stroke 3 years ago which makes memory and processing more difficult and talking for a long time is extremely taxing and I really worry I'll forget some of my main points of the relationship. Thank you for your help!

Thank you, that's good to know. I'm so sorry you went through this, you're so brave for reporting x

Yes absolutely.
We often have people with notes.

My preference however is that you're not sat there reading from them, as it looks more rehearsed than you might feel.
I would say look at them, put them to one side or on the table, then when it's appropriate just ask to check your notes so you don't forget anything. This will have been addressed before the interview and mentioned so it should be fine.

We would also ask for a copy of the notes for the file and this would probably be unused material and we would possibly have to disclose a redacted version of it way down the line.

All the best x