Police help- Do I have to give a statement?

hollydays

AdamB wrote: »

They normally do. But then I thought that if they do that to witnesses, they are more likely to get the truth as witnesses then act defensively to make sure they dont say anything that would incriminate themselves somehow.

??????????

hollydays

So what story do you think the customer is going to have told the Police about you?

AdamB

hollydays wrote: »

??????????

Thats how Ive felt before anyway. When Ive done witness statements for shoplifting before, the police have made me feel like it was me that did it even though they had arrested the actual person.

lush_walrus

Personally, whenever I have given witness statements it has happened via me going to a Police station and saying I have something to report...I have witnessed something odd which is x. In those situations the officers are perfectly polite and helpful and my statement has walked them through moment by moment what I remember of x day and x event.

BUT, your situation is very different as the police for whatever reason have approached you about something they have been informed of or are investigating, rather than you seeing something and taking it to them. So it seems perfectly reasonable that they do not give you any information as to what they are investigating. If they did and for some reason you had to go to court as a witness the lawyers would most certainly get that information out of you and make your statement invalid.

Why can't you just give your statement on what you remember? You can start the statement by saying 5 months ago blah blah blah and walk them through how whatever details you remember, if it makes you feel better you can even put in it how the job came to you, where you had been previously, and whatever else you remember. If you have done nothing wrong then the more information you add the better your statement will be and even if you do not know what the crime is, you may well put something in that proves or disproves the case. Or of course you may well remember nothing of any use at all.

Surely you can actually see the reason that the police are not telling you anything about the actual case. Memory is a funny thing, if they said we are investigating a crime which involves a man in green weeing in the garden, then your statement will revolve around telling them that you have not seen a man weeing in the garden. What they are looking for is either the fact that you were leaving/at the property at the time the man was weeing and yet didn't see anything blah blah blah. Or they are looking for a statement that describes a whole manor of things, but then mentions that you felt the woman lost concentration when you talked to her and stared out of the living room window then ushered you out blah blah blah.

Do you see what I am trying to explain? My guess is they are simply looking for you to give a statement of what you remember, nothing more nothing less. If your statement is of no use whatsoever then so be it, but what they are likely to be hoping for is that although you did not see a crime as such you recall something that actually led up to the crime, you found strange. Perhaps the fact that the gate closed and locked you out may be the salient point in showing something odd occured that day, who knows. But, ultimately if you have done nothing wrong, why not just give a statement of what you remember. It's of little interest to the police to fit random people up for crimes. As others have said, imagine if a crime happened to you...Would you like everyone to not give a statement because they feel the information they have is not of use, or would you prefer them to just go ahead and tell them what they know? With regards to timing, police stations are generally accessable for giving statements at all different times of the day. If you felt more comfortable with giving a statement, you wouldn't need to meet this officer, you could arrange to go in when he is off shift and give it to someone else.

peter999

You don't have to say anything.

If Police are playing a game which could lead to you being a suspect without telling you why, you should say nothing without further advice.

peter999

peter999

bestyman wrote: »

I asked him what the problem was, whet crime had been commited and by whom ( genuine question so I could better assist him with relevant info) and he refused to tell me . At this point I told him I thought he was acting in an unproffesional , underhand mannor and as I answered his questions politely I expected the same in return.

He then took a softer approach and said that I was not accused of anything but I could be a witness. " A witness to what " I asked and again he wouldnt tell me as he said " it could influence my statement".

He goes on to say that he wants to see me ( Wednesday) so I can make a statement . Im not sure about this as I feel I should know what ( and who) the alleged crime is. I feel I am the suspect and not the witness.
Not knowing what the statement is about could mean that I leave relevant info out. I dont trust his underhand tactics.

Don't give a statement without knowing what is being investigated.

peter999

bestyman

Cheers for the advise,
Seem to have a difference of opinion but will take on board what you have all put .

Ts aly , Its not that easy where there is only a verbal agrrement. I have been down the debt collection road before and it didnt work.

Lush Walrus, you make a lot of sense but it seems strange that out of say 1000 jobs a year i get around 4 payment disputes, thats erm less than half a percent and on that job its the one that plod rings me about, coincidence?
Thats why I think it could be something to do with me and not something that I have seen .

Peter 999, why are you called 999? Seems like sound advise.

Just reading this thread back, from an ousiders point of view does it look like im a bunny boiler in revenge for the £20 owed? lol ( paranoid again?)

taxi97w

My hunch is that those people who turned up when you were leaving may have performed 'the criminal act', and the police are investigating whether you are part of their gang.

blue70

Personally I wouldn't worry about this at all. This is going to be one of two things.

Either you are genuinely thought to be a witness and a statement is required. If this is the case there shouldn't be any problem in supplying one - don't forget that it is probably something completely unconnected to you in which case the reason that the officer did not give you too much info over the phone is that it may prejudice your recollection of what ever you may have witnessed Eg If he says 'How many people were in the blue car' you will assume that it was a blue car even though you might remember it as being green. Does that make sense?

The other possibility is that you have been identified as a possible suspect for something. If this is the case then meet the officer as soon as possible and listen to what he has to say about the incident. Don't forget all it takes is for a neighbour to say 'I saw three cars / vans in the road about that time' and to then give three car reg numbers to police. In those circumstances the police will have to speak to all of the owners of those vehicles to eliminate the owners as being involved in the incident. Again it would be foolish for an officer to reveal too much to you until he has ruled you out as being involved in what ever has happenned.

You will not do yourself any favours by avoiding this issue because if an allegation of crime is being investigated then it wont go away until everyone has been spoken to.

Hope this helps

lush_walrus

bestyman wrote: »

Cheers for the advise,
Just reading this thread back, from an ousiders point of view does it look like im a bunny boiler in revenge for the £20 owed? lol ( paranoid again?)

Honestly it doesn't make you look like a bunny boiler at all. You state what you are going to work for, and should be paid that. Whether she paid you 1p less or £500 less is not the point. It's the principal of someone not paying what they have agreed...If you had just accepted it, then you would not only have been out of pocket, but also would have been encouraging her to do it again. That's how I always view these things anyway.

I hope it all works out one way or the other. I can't help but feel that the coincidence in the police getting in touch on this job is because she is a nutter! One thought I had overnight is that perhaps she has reported that you tried to rip her off for £20 and the police are looking into that...Although, any police on here correct me if I am wrong, wouldn't that be a civil case rather than criminal? And therefore not a police matter?