WITNESS SUPPORT
SUPPORTING POLICE WITNESSES THROUGH THE CORONIAL PROCESS
The Metropolitan Police Service’s Inquest Team has evolved pathbreaking mechanisms to support witnesses during inquest proceedings leading the way for the UK’s new-age policing, writes Detective Inspector Tina Macleod
In 2012, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was accustomed to dealing with civil litigation, preparing witnesses who were being called to give evidence at trials and making sure they were fully supported. However, there was little support, by comparison, for witnesses being called to give evidence at Coroner’s court after a death during or following contact with the police. These tragic deaths broadly arise out of police pursuits, police shootings, missing persons, police restraints, road traffic collisions and in-custody, and suicide cases after police contact and/or concern-for-safety calls. This was leaving witnesses feeling, through no fault of their own, inadequately prepared for the inquest proceedings as well as having to deal with
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the potentially devastating consequences of describing what had happened without the necessary support and welfare considerations in place. For many, this was having a detrimental effect on their ability to provide good witness testimonies.
“The IT want them to know that a coronial process will follow any investigation and that whilst their journey may not be over, they will have a guiding hand to help them navigate their way through.”
Inquest cases present a potentially difficult experience for police witnesses as it will be necessary to revisit traumatic events which led to someone’s death. They may also have to face family and friends of the deceased and on occasion the court
setting may feel like a hostile environment with potential consequences linked to misconduct procedures. This presents huge challenges both professionally and personally. Therefore, in 2010, a small team of civil action experts began to delve into the coronial system and late PC Heather Hocking, with assistance from retired PS Debra Hardy, developed a process to introduce mechanisms for preparing inquest cases akin to those the MPS had for civil actions. Little did they know, this concept was
totally original in policing, and what they were starting to formulate was to become vitally important and integral to the way we prepare for police contact inquests that we see in the MPS today. The Inquest Team (IT), as it is known
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