10 year Timeline
What’s possible with your support and a fair wind:
| Year | Objective |
|---|---|
| 2009 | Witness Confident launches |
| 2010 | Witness alerts/reports system rolled out on Google maps |
| 2011 | Legislation provides that all video & digital recordings of witness statements can be evidence in chief |
| 2012 | Constable awarded Queen's Police Medal for taking witness statements at scene on her own handycam |
| 2013 | The major political parties make public and witness engagement a central plank of their manifesto commitments on criminal justice |
| 2014 | Sentencing Guidelines Council recommends a minimum jail term of 2 years (i.e. a sentence of 4 years) for assaults of and threats to assault independent witnesses |
| 2015 | The Lord Chief Justice calls on judges to ensure that independent witness are treated with respect and consideration by counsel |
| 2016 | The monarch hosts a Garden Party to thank and celebrate people who have acted as independent witnesses |
| 2017 | Government agrees that fines on defendants should be used to fund new court powers to give rewards to independent witnesses |
| 2018 | Web-based witness and victim ratings of individual police officers are now a factor in their perfomance ratings and career progression of those in the police service |
| 2019 | 22% real fall in street violence has been achieved from 2009 data. The fall is 31% in areas where community groups are active and where local practitioners excel on witness engagement. |