Confident witnesses & the media (10/09)
When we were setting up the charity, many people said that in changing public attitudes to the walk-on-by society, one of the toughest obstacles would be the propensity of the British media to run alarmist stories about witnesses and to ignore good news. So what lies behind this positive coverage about a witness?
The links to this week's coverage are below but, essentially, following a public appeal for information after a vicious rape attack in Exeter in July 2006, Lloyd Gardner recognised two women in video footage who were talking to a key suspect and put the police in touch with them. Although Mr Gardner describes his role as minor, the police say his information was critical in catching and convicting the rapist. For this reason, he was recommended for and received a £10,000 reward.
Thus far, in terms of the mood music, the story strikes a couple of important notes. Evidence that an individual might think is of little relevance can often be pivotal in a police investigation – and so, also, in convicting the guilty and avoiding miscarriages of justice. This simple fact that witness information is often just one piece in a jigsaw is why it is so important that the police are open and accessible to people when they have evidence to give. Inevitably, even where a witness thinks their information is important, if they have to spend an hour trying to get through to the relevant officer, many may give up. And so where a witness is unsure about the significance of their evidence, they are likely to spend less time in trying to communicate it to the police. With witness appeal boards (which gave contacts details for the relevant team) no longer being used, it is important that practical steps are taken to reduce the difficulties and delays that now face all those witnesses who are willing to help the police.
The undervaluing of the role of witnesses must also change if we are to turn the tide on violent crime. The fact that Mr Gardner received a reward for his help, and a substantial one at that, is a central part of this story. This is one aspect of the important role that the independent charity Crimestoppers (which provided the reward) plays which is often overlooked. The generosity of the business people who put up this £10,000 reward for this horrific rape in Exeter stands in marked contrast to the generosity of the criminal justice system when it comes to rewarding witnesses. In the financial year (2006-7) when this reward was offered, the total sum awarded by all the courts in the south-west of England to all the people there who helped stop or catch criminals amounted to £5,933 - barely 60% of what some businessmen raised as a reward for one horrific crime.
Press reports such as this about a confident witness being rewarded are a welcome counter-weight to the occasional stories about have-a-go heroes who get badly injured or worse. Additionally, such positive stories can and will make a real difference to the willingness of the public to engage with the criminal justice system and so help detect and above all deter crime.
The key reason this story hit the press was Mr Gardner’s generosity and kindness in donating the reward to the victim: Express, Mail, Mirror, Sun, Telegraph and Times. Hats off to him for this – such actions can only encourage others to take a more public-spirited and community-minded approach and the press coverage of it can do nothing but good when it comes to influencing people's values and conduct. This is all too clear from the reader comments on the papers' websites and so this press story bodes well for a new approach to how we all see the role and value of people as witnesses.
So where did the story come from? Six months ago the Plymouth Herald covered the story and it then reported that the £10,000 reward had been made to two (unnamed) people and that ‘the selfless duo’ had both decided to give the reward to the victim. My guess is that the reason the story has now hit the national press is that Mr Gardner has been asked by his local police to open their new station in Ottery St Mary next Thursday and I imagine a savvy press officer in Exeter Constabulary saw the potential of the wider news story. This time, however, Mr Gardner was identified, photographed and agreed to talk to the media, hence the wide coverage. An unintended consequence of recent moves to encourage witnesses to be anonymous may be stoke up fear and keep the focus on bad news stories.
Our thanks are due not only to Lloyd Gardner – a confident witness – but also to his unnamed but apparently equally deserving colleague.
