Witness Care Unit

Information and practical support

Our Witness Care Unit (WCU) is staffed by a team of Witness Care Officers (WCOs). They are police staff, not police officers. A WCO is allocated to your case just before the First Court Appearance at Magistrates' court. They are not involved during the investigative stage of the case.

The first contact your WCO will have with you is when they contact you with the outcome of the First Court Appearance.

Your WCO will continue to update you with court hearing outcomes as the case progresses through the court system. There may be time gaps between court hearings. During this time, it is unlikely your WCO will have further information for you.

However, you can always contact [email protected] or use the contact details at the top of any letter we have sent to you if you have queries or concerns about your case.

The Witness Care Unit is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

If a Not Guilty plea is entered and there is a trial, we will let you know if you are required to attend court to give your evidence. We will tell you when and where to attend court.

If you are required to attend trial to give your evidence, there are things we can do to make this a bit easier for you.

• Witness Service – if you would like a pre-court visit, we can make an onward referral for you to the Witness Service. They can arrange this and will also be at court on the day to support you.

• Victim Care – if you would like a referral to Victim Care, who provide emotional support to victims of crime, we can raise this referral for you. 

• Travel – we can contact the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ask for train tickets, taxis or air travel as required.

• Accommodation – if you are travelling a significant distance and/or must attend court more than one day, we can contact the CPS and ask for hotel accommodation.

• Childcare – if you need help with childcare while you attend court, we can contact the Crown Prosecution Service and ask that childcare be provided by one of their contracted nurseries. Children under 16 years must always be accompanied by an adult at court.

• Interpreters – if English is not your first language and you feel you need an interpreter in court, we can arrange this for you.

• Special Measures – if you feel having Special Measures at court (i.e. screens, live link) would help you to give your best evidence, we can make the necessary arrangements for a Special Measures Application to be made at court by CPS on your behalf.

• Victim Personal Statement – if you would like to make a Victim Personal Statement or update an existing one, we can make the necessary arrangements for an officer to contact you about this.

• Reading your Victim Personal Statement – if you would like your Victim Personal Statement (VPS) read aloud at court at sentencing or if you would like to read your VPS aloud yourself, we can make the Crown Prosecution Service and courts aware so the necessary arrangements can be made.

For additional support on what to expect if you are required to attend court please view the following videos: