Attorney General's Office

Attorney General: Victim Support - Witness Service 20th Anniversary Concert

I would like to thank the Witness Service for inviting me to attend and to speak here this evening at this wonderful venue. My thanks also go to the Rivlin Piano Trio for providing such an enjoyable recital. Coincidentally, I was hoping that they would play Handel as he initially studied law but quickly gave it up to pursue music. I don't know what that says about the law, but listening again to his music, I think it is fair to say that he made the right choice.

While we all believe in looking forward, and building on achievement, I think it is important that we also take time to acknowledge and celebrate that achievement.

I'm therefore honoured this evening to have the opportunity to celebrate 20 years of the Witness Service in London and to thank each and every Witness Service volunteer for the selfless commitment you have shown to your work, without which the Criminal Justice Service would not be where it is today. Lord Judge took us through some of that history.

Looking back from where we are in 2009, where the Witness Service is an integral part of the Criminal Justice Service, it is hard to believe that there was a time when the Witness Service did not exist. 1989 seems a long time ago. But things were so different then than they are today. In terms of the changes we have seen in victim and witness care it was.

Back then, before the London Witness Service was founded, witnesses were expected to turn up at court, make themselves known to the usher and wait to see a prosecution or defence representative. There was little or no formal witness care. Sometimes I wonder if witnesses ever received a thank you for giving up their time during a case.

So the decision by Victim Support to pilot, in London, a new Witness Service to support witnesses attending at court was really quite revolutionary. That it has grown to be the national success it is today is testament to the vision of those who set up and those who were involved in those first pilots. They and their successors can be very proud, very proud indeed, of the fact that in 2008 the London Witness Service supported over 34000 victims and witnesses.

Today, we in the Criminal Justice Service recognise the need to provide victims and witnesses with needs-based support. My predecessor, Peter Goldsmith, introduced the Prosecutors Pledge which sets out the services victims can expect from prosecutors. The Government has introduced the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime; "Special Measures" have been introduced for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses; and Police/CPS witness care units have been established and provide tailored support for witnesses. It is important that we remember a time when the prosecutor wasn't able to talk to victims or witnesses. They weren't allowed to talk to them in case they appeared tarnished. But now prosecutors give support directly; they talk and walk a victim through a case right to the end,

So we have come a long way since 1989. In great part I think that is because of the unstinting work that Victim Support has done, as powerful voice for victims of crime, to persuade - sometimes, dare I say it, pressure - Government departments, the police and the prosecutors that they needed to do more, much more, for victims and witnesses of crime.

We have all learned a great deal from Victim Support and the Witness Service and that is why we decided in 2004, during my time as criminal justice minister, to extend the witness care model to provide pre-court support through the "No Witness No Justice" programme. As a result of close cooperation between the CPS and the police there is now a witness care unit available to every victim and witness going through the trial process.

I know that in many Areas the CPS/police witness care units and the Witness Service have a close and effective working relationship and we know from feedback from victims and witness the difference it makes and the huge benefits they gain from receiving this coordinated support. This is a great example of how the public sector and the voluntary sector can work together successfully. If either of us tried to do it slowly we wouldn't have succeeded, but together we can. We've delivered something together that we wouldn't have been if we were working alone.

I particularly want to express my admiration for the work of the Witness Service staff. Consider the work that Witness Service volunteers undertake on a daily basis to support witnesses at court: providing information about court and legal processes, introducing witnesses to the prosecutor, conducting pre-trial court familiarisation visits, providing an enhanced service for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, such as providing support in the video-link room and extended court visits. I've spoken to a number of victims that have said without help , support care and they love they get from the Witness Service, some of them wouldn't have made it.

I cannot emphasise how important this support is. It has a positive impact on the witness, for whom the experience of attending court is that much less daunting if they have someone else to walk with them. It is beneficial for the prosecutor, who knows that his or her witnesses will be better prepared for the experience of giving evidence, and it benefits the court, particularly in cases where support is required in the video-link room.

I would like to conclude if I may, by saying how the Witness Service is hugely valuable and I know it is greatly appreciated not just by victims and witnesses but also by practitioners in the criminal justice service. Therefore I ask that, this evening, if you have not already done so, you show your appreciation and support for the Witness Service by making whatever contribution you feel able to their funds or otherwise, to help them build on the success of the first 20 years.

Your commitment is the most precious thing of all. Your willingness to volunteer is so important - so please keep volunteering and showing your commitment.

Thank you.