In the section To be a Confident Witness, you'll find Guidance on what you can do if you witness street violence. This goes from what to do at the scene through giving a statement to attending at court. We hope this will give you a good idea of what being a witness will involve and how you can minimise the risk of grief and help best manage the process. Remember we will all benefit if more of us are prepared to make a stand and, if it comes to it, to take the stand.
If you are an independent witness to a violent or serious crime and your evidence could be important, we hope this Guidance will encourage you to contact the police. If you remain unsure whether to talk to the police and would first like some confidential advice, you can contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . This part of our work - offering free advice to independent eye-witnesses and victims in cases of street violence - is particularly important for three reasons. First, we hope it will give more witnesses the confidence to make and take a stand. Secondly, it provides a unique safe haven for such witnesses who are unsure whether to contact the police and so enables many more people to take an informed choice. Thirdly, it means that our other work will be better informed by the problems and fears people have about engaging as a witness.
This free advice will be given by or under the supervision of qualified lawyers and to this end, Witness Confident has been designated a legal advice centre by the Bar Standards Board (the body that regulates barristers). As we are a small charity, the advice service will be prioritising calls from Hackney & Islington where our community work is presently focused. If you are outside this area and are an independent eye-witness in a case of street violence and you need help, do please get in touch. We will do our best to help you. If it's urgent, please flag the email so or ring us on 020 7226 0968.
