IN DEFENS

Victim Information and Advice

A part of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

About giving your statement(Precognition)

victim and other witnesses, the wider circumstances of what happened and who was involved. The fiscal will be able to explain more about this.

How will I find out if there will be a prosecution?

The fiscal or VIA will let you know. If there is to

be a prosecution, they will tell you what type of charge(s) the accused will face. If the decision is not to prosecute, you can ask the fiscal to explain the reasons for this.

SupportYou may wish to contact Victim Support Scotland. It provides practical and emotional support to victims of crime. For details of local services, call 0800 160 1985 during office hours . You can also look at the website

www.victimsupportsco.org.uk.

VIA can also help put you in touch with other support organisations.

About VIAVictim Information and Advice (VIA) is part of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. VIA staff are not prosecutors. Our job is to assist victims, witnesses and in certain cases, bereaved nearest relatives. The leaflet VIA – How we can help explains more about what we do.

© Crown copyright 2008 APS Group Scotland DPPAS 12585 3/12

Please contact VIA if you would like this document

in another language, large print, audio, Braille or

another format. We welcome calls through

RNID Text Relay prefix 18001.

Further Information

Please contact your local VIA office at the telephone number on the enclosed letter if you would like any further information or if there is anything you are unsure about. Alternatively contact our Enquiry Point by telephone on 0300 020 3000or visit our website at www.copfs.gov.uk

89522 INFO ABOUT STATEMENT_89522 GIVING STATEMENT 07/03/2012 09:09 Page 1

Precognitio After a crime, most witnesses give a statement to

the police about what they saw or heard.

If the police think a crime has taken place, they

report it to the procurator fiscal (the fiscal) and

give them copies of all witness statements. The

fiscal is responsible for investigating and

prosecuting crime in the local area.

Sometimes the fiscal wants to meet you and

take statements from you

precognition. In other cases the fiscal will ask the

We hope this leaflet answers some of the

questions you may have about the precognition

investigation. Please ask us if there is anything

else you would like to know or are unsure about

(see contact details at end of leaflet).

Will I have to give a statement to the fiscal?

The fiscal may decide to interview you to find

out what you saw or heard. If they do, they (or

someone working on their behalf called a

precognition officer or precognoscer) will send

you a letter. This will ask you to meet them to

make a statement (precognition) and give you a

date and a time when you should attend.

If you cannot attend then, you must contact the

fiscal to arrange another date. The precognition

normally takes place in the fiscal’s office.

The fiscal will not read out your address in courtunless it is where the crime took place. But it may

that address or an item was recovered from it.

What information can the defence get?

Any statement that you gave to the police maybe given to the defence solicitor in the first fewweeks after the case is reported to the fiscal.This is a normal and necessary part of theprocedure to ensure the defence solicitor isaware of all the evidence and can represent theaccused fairly. In some cases witness statementsand contact details will not be given immediatelyor may be edited. VIA will explain what hashappened in your case.

The defence solicitor is also usually entitled toreceive details of any previous convictions orpending cases which a witness may have. Thejudge will not always allow this to be mentionedduring the trial but may do so if it is relevant tothe evidence the witness will be giving.

Defence solicitors are not allowed to passwitness statements or contact details to theaccused. If you have any concerns about theinformation that may have been passed to thedefence, let VIA know.

Do I have to give a statement to the defence

solicitor?

Does precognition mean that there will be a

prosecution?

Not necessarily. At this stage, the fiscal will stillbe investigating the circumstances of whathappened. As well as witness statements, thefiscal will also look at what other evidence isavailable, for example medical or forensicevidence.

The fiscal (or senior prosecution lawyers calledCrown Counsel) will then decide if there isenough evidence to prosecute the accused andit is in the public interest to do so. They will alsodecide what charge(s) the accused should faceand whether the prosecution should be in thesheriff court or the High Court.

What does the “public interest” mean?

It means that the fiscal will look at the case from

all angles – from the point of view of the wider

community as well as of the victim and the

accused.

Assessment of the public interest will include a

number of factors – for example, the nature and

seriousness of the offence, its impact on the

VIA will let you know the name of the person who

will interview you at precognition. We will also tell

you if there is a change in the precognoscer for

your case.

What happens at precognition?

You will be asked to give your account of what

happened. This will help the fiscal understand all

the evidence there is against the person accused

of the crime.

You may be asked questions that the police did

not ask. Tell the fiscal if you think you have useful

information that has not been covered. You can

also ask any questions you may have.

If you have any concerns about being a witness,

you can discuss this with the person who

interviews you at precognition or the VIA Officer

dealing with the case.

Can I have someone with me?

Precognitions usually take place in private. If

you think it would be helpful for you to have a

supporter with you, let the fiscal or precognoscer

know before you meet and tell them who you

would like to bring with you. They will discuss the

matter with you and let you know if that will be

possible. Their contact number is on your letter

(citation).

Are my contact details kept private?

If you are a witness, your details may be given tothe defence solicitor, but they are not allowed togive your address or telephone number to theaccused.

89522 INFO ABOUT STATEMENT_89522 GIVING STATEMENT 07/03/2012 09:09 Page 2

. This is called a

police to take another statement from you (or any

other witnesses) where additional information is

required but an interview is not necessary. Both

these procedures are normal and are called the

n Investigation

precognition investigation.

come out at trial if the crime was seen from the

You do not require to speak to a defence lawyer

Procurator Fiscal will encourage you to give astatement to the defence lawyer as it will give thema better understanding of the evidence against theaccused to help them advise the accused. This

before the trial. However, like the Procurator Fiscal, the defence lawyer (or a precognition agent) might

also ask you to give a statement. However, the

sometimes means that a trial can be avoided or your evidence can be agreed so that you do

to go to court.not need