FOI 523-2023 / May 2023 / Earwitness testimony
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: FOI-523-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 22nd May 2023 as follows:
I would like to request any information you may have regarding earwitness testimony protocols within your police force.
An earwitness testimony refers to a statement or account provided by an individual who claims to have heard or overheard a particular event or conversation. It is like an eyewitness testimony but specifically focuses on what someone heard rather than what they saw. Earwitness testimonies can be crucial in legal proceedings, such as criminal investigations or trials, where they may provide important information or evidence regarding an incident, or the identification of individuals involved. However, like eyewitness testimonies, earwitness testimonies can be subject to limitations, biases, and inaccuracies, and their reliability may vary depending on various factors such as the conditions of the event, the memory and perception abilities of the witness, the way in which the information is collected by a police officer and other contextual factors.
The research I am carrying out will hopefully clarify what protocols (if any) are currently being used in the UK for earwitness testimonies. This will help me to establish whether there is a need to develop an earwitness ‘tool’ which could potentially be a more accurate way of documenting this information. The first step we are currently in the process of developing is a pitch slider, then we hope to add further vocal characteristics. The aim is to make this tool as accurate as possible, and as user-friendly and efficient as possible for police officers and lay-people to use.
Therefore, I would like you to answer the following questions and please provide as much detail as possible. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.
1) Does the police force have any in-house or nationwide protocols at present for eliciting earwitness testimonies? If yes, what document, guidelines or tools are used?
2) What training is in place for how police officers conduct an initial account from a victim/witness when taking an earwitness testimony?
3) How many cases in the past year have involved earwitness evidence?
Please find the Warwickshire police response set out below.
Response: Please be advised that the requested information in relation to the number of cases in the past year which have involved earwitness evidence is not centrally recorded and is therefore not held in in a readily retrievable format. In order to determine such information it would be necessary to examine the individual statements in relation to each and every case during the year. Such searches would take an inordinate amount of time and would be above the amount to which we are legally required to respond i.e. the cost of locating and retrieving the information exceeds the ‘appropriate level’ as stated in the Freedom of Information (Fees and Appropriate Limit) Regulations 2004.
In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, this letter acts as a Refusal Notice for this part of the request and if one part of a request exceeds the fees limit then S12 of the Act applies to the whole request.
In accordance with Section 16 of the Act I have a duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to your request; however, due to the amount of records which would need to be examined, I am unable to suggest a way to pare down your request into one which could be managed within the fees limit.
As a gesture of goodwill I have provided responses to Q1 and Q2 below.
Q1 response: No information held
Q2 response: No information held. This would be treated the same way as eyewitness statements with no specific guidance tailored to it. Students receive two days witness interview training.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB