Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

Francesca Ainsworth & Amina Memon When, Where and How Often? A Summary of Refreshed Testimony Police Practices in England and Wales. Royal Holloway, University of London, UK iIIRG 24th May 2012

Refreshed Testimony “The act of refreshing a witness’ memory, prior to them giving evidence in court, by allowing them to review their original statement/testimony.” • Refreshing a witness memory with their own written statement has increased recall accuracy in some experimental settings (Turtle & Yuille, 1994; Magner, Marham & Barnett, 1996) • Preliminary findings for refreshing witnesses with video-recorded evidence in an experimental setting

Protocol and Guidelines • Young and Vulnerable Witnesses Only • Not all witnesses have opportunity to refresh testimony (Plotnikoff & Woolfson 2004; Joint Inspectorate Report, 2012) • Achieving Best Evidence Guidelines (2011) (ABE) • Crown Prosecution Service: Safeguarding Young and Vulnerable Witnesses Document (2011) (CPS) • Refreshing should NOT take place on the day of the trial • Witness concentration/well-being

Refreshed Testimony In Practice • When? • Delay; Retrieval-induced forgetting • Where? • Context Reinstatement; practicalities • How often? • Stronger memory; practicalities • Evidence format? • Written statement vs. transcript vs. video-recording • Witness instructions? • Original event vs. original evidence • Who can be present? • Alone vs. supervised

Questionnaire Study • n=215 • All England and Wales forces invited to take part • Surrey • Devon & Cornwall • Cambridgeshire • West Yorkshire • Northumbria • Aim to identify current practice and the potential requirements for official guidelines

Demographics • Other includes: Traffic Officer, Chief Inspector, CID, Neighbourhood Patrol

Comments: Training • “I have never been given any guidance in this area at all. Cannot even say if a witness has the divine right to view their statement prior to giving evidence.” • “I have never been shown what to do or what to say, I am always cautious as to what I can talk to them about.” • “This system appears to work well, no training required.”

Results Q. What % of your witnesses are refreshed? Q. When are your witnesses refreshed?

Comments: Timing • “...there has to be something better in place, than the witness being handed his/her statement 10 minutes before trial, as happens now.” • “I feel that allowing witnesses to refresh on the day of giving evidence is effective and possibly best practice.”

Results Q. How often do witnesses review their testimony? Q. How often do witnesses review their testimony? Q. What format is used for refreshing?

Results: Location Never Rarely Sometimes Often Frequently Always

Comments: Location • A witness providing a written statement will be given the chance to read at court on the day of their evidence. In the case of video-recorded interviews...this is invariably held at the police station because the review facilities are available.” • “Statement could be posted or e-mailed to them with explanation of rules of evidence, makeup of the court and the manner they will be expected to deliver their evidence.”

Results

Comments: Coaching Witnesses • “Unlike the American system the UK are very guarded about witnesses being 'coached' hence refreshing their memory is very rarely done anywhere than the court on the day of the trail.” • “I think the prosecuting lawyer should go though the testimony with the witness and be able to help point out the most relevant parts to them.”

Conclusions • Practice currently varies on all aspects of refreshed testimony • Increase in research required • Work towards guidelines for best practice

Thank you for listening. Any Questions? Francesca.Ainsworth.2010@live.rhul.ac.uk iIIRG 24th May 2012

Royal Holloway, University of London, UK