Advice & Support: Staff members being a witness at court

You hope that you’ll never need to attend court as part of your work.

However, school staff are sometimes needed to attend court, for example as a witness to a crime in the workplace or following a disclosure made by a vulnerable child.

Image shows maze with Criminal Court somewhere in the middle of the maze. A confused staff member looks at the maze from the outside. A caption reads "Going to court as a witness might feel like a maze."

This can send some staff into a panic. Perhaps this is the first time you’ve needed to attend court, perhaps you know nothing about courts or perhaps you feel saddled by the responsibility of giving evidence. Added to this may be an expectation that you keep a high level of confidentiality about what you witnessed.

These issues aren’t always easy to resolve, but there are some steps we can take to lessen the stress, anxiety or pressure you may be feeling: You can help yourself by knowing about support and about how courts work.

These five tips will help you prepare to be a witness at a court in England.

1. Contact the Witness Service

There’s two different services you might hear about: Witness Care Units and the Witness Service:

Witness Care is run by the police. They tell you which court you need to go to, when and at what time. They can also refer you to the Witness Service.
Witness Service are in the court, and are mainly run by Citizens Advice. They provide practical and emotional support for witnesses. For example, they can arrange a pre-trial visit for you to look around and chat about how things run. They are also available on the day for emotional or practical support (e.g. access to a special waiting room for witnesses so you’re not sat out on the concourse).

Google your local Witness Service and you’ll probably find a phone number. Call them to ask about what they do, for example:

What do you provide?
Can a witness sit in a separate area to a defendant?
Is it possible to visit court beforehand so that, by the day of the case, it’s a less unfamiliar environment?
Where in the court building are Witness Service based?
Do you have any leaflets/booklets that would give me info about attending court?
Is there a Victims Code? Is there a Witness Charter? What are they?
Is there anything I can or can’t bring? E.g. Scissors in your laptop bag are disliked by security guards.
Are there any rules on having someone with me?

Another great place to start is the Witness Service page of the Citizens Advice website. If you live in London, the arrangements may be a different and support might initially come from Victim Support. Finally, if you are still struggling, ask Witness Care for info on the local Witness Service (NB Witness Care may even do the referral for you).

There are some things that you can’t ask…

Avoid expressions like ‘help me prepare for the case’: this can be misunderstood as asking for help with your evidence (when your evidence must be yours alone). The service won’t help you prepare evidence, but can try to remove any obstacles that might add stress or pressure on the day of the case.

The criminal justice system expects that you don’t discuss your evidence with others prior to the case, but if you’re unsure of what this means, it’s a good question to ask the witness service.

2. Talk to your line manager about support

You may be unable to discuss matters with your family or colleagues because of confidentiality. However, often your head or a safeguarding lead will be aware of some, if not all, of the circumstances.

Even still, don’t expect them to have all the answers. This might be the first time they’ve experienced something like this.

So, speak to whoever you think is best. In particular ask questions around:

Which colleagues is it ok to discuss this with?
Can we book in some time to debrief (e.g. on the day after the case)?
Who would be the best person for me to do this with? Can we get a debrief in the diary now to make sure that he/she has enough time on that day?
Is there any support through Human Resources for situations like this? Am I ok to ask them?

It’s important for you to have a good idea of the support available in your work place.

3. Know that you may be waiting around for a long time on the day you attend court

You should be given a day and time to attend court. Magistrates’ courts often list cases for either 10.00am or 2.00pm. Within the court building, there are likely to be several courtrooms, each hearing a range of cases.

A courtroom may have eight cases listed at 10.00am. The magistrates then work through these cases. If the court runs out of time in the morning session (10.00am until 1.00pm), then remaining cases get moved to the afternoon list (although sometimes court staff may switch the case to another courtroom if they find one that is less busy).

If you are appearing as a witness at a magistrates’ court trial, the court may have allowed more time for this: there might be only one or two cases scheduled in that courtroom on that day. Even still, no one can be certain how long you’ll wait before giving your evidence.

Crown courts can also be unpredictable and involve lots of waiting.

Take something to occupy your mind, for example a book, some training handouts that you never got round to reading or even the latest 9000lives.org blog post!

4. Read “Going to Court and being a witness”

Image shows front covers of both Going to Court books (one for 12-17 year olds, the other for 5-11 year olds).

Even though you’re an adult, this government publication is very accessible and gives you information about how the court works. It is aimed at 12-17 year olds, so not all of it is relevant to adults. However, it is a quick and easy way to help you to prepare: Click here to read it.

Alternatively, Google: Going to court and being a witness a booklet for young witnesses (12-17 years).

NB: If there’s also a primary aged child who’s also going to have to give evidence on the same case, there’s a version of the booklet for 5 – 11 year olds. You can download it here.

If you’re travelling a long way, need child care or the time off work is unpaid, you can claim some expenses. Click here for the gov.uk advice on expenses.

5. Know that its ok to find it uncomfortable or stressful

You might be uncomfortable that your evidence could send someone to prison, get them a criminal record or even end their career.

Another way of looking at this is that your evidence helps to ensure justice is done – whether the defendant is found guilty or not guilty.

All you are doing is truthfully saying what you saw, heard or did. Your job is to simply tell the truth. It is the judge or magistrates’ job to decide on guilt and, if guilty, decide a sentence. They will make decisions on all the evidence (and not just yours).

Summing up…

We might not remove all of the discomfort or stress that comes from going to court. However, we can follow the five steps above to reduce any impact on our own wellbeing and so give the best evidence to help justice be done.