Police Witness: Problems and Procedures From the Prosecutor's View in Street Crime Cases (From Basic Course for Prosecutors XII, V 2, P 209-234, 1987 See NCJ-112901)

• NCJ Number: 112905
• Author(s): B Barrett
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Training (Aid/Material)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In discussing procedures prosecutors can use to maximize the effectiveness of police officers who are witnesses in street crime cases, this paper discusses informal education, evidence acquisition, and communication.

Abstract

Informal education through legal division bulletins and inservice education can provide feedback from prosecutors to police regarding how police might increase their effectiveness as witnesses. Regarding evidence acquisition, prosecutors must thoroughly question officer witnesses at the beginning of cases to obtain details on what they observed and what they did to seize evidence. This paper lists the types of officer observations the prosecutor should explore and issues that should be considered in determining what and how evidence was seized. An officer's ability to communicate to others the information associated with an arrest is crucial in the prosecution of a case. The prosecutor should particularly focus on accurate and clear officer communications reflected in arrest records, the court's accusatory instrument, and the unusual-incident report (used only in New York City). The prosecutor should focus on effective officer communication in both pretrial interviews with the officer and in preparing the officer for testifying.