is it possible (in the UK) to make a police statement and then if something is missing or the statement was a lie, to be able to change the entire police statement?
2007-03-23 08:02:45 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
you can't change the original one but you can make a new one...although obviously both will be taken into account and it won't look good that you didn't give all the information in the first place.
2007-03-23 08:10:31 · answer #1 · answered by DS12221 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
In the UK when you give a statement to the police there is a section at the top of the first page, which you sign at the end of the statement which states that "If you make a statement which is false or which you believe to be untrue" then you will be liable to prosecution.
If you go to court and give untrue evidence then you will be committing a more serious offence than if you tell the police before it gets to court.
If a false statement you have given is being used in a prosecution then there is a chance that a person is in prison because you lied.
The police could charge you with wasting police time or attempting to pervert the course of justice, just for signing the false statement. If it got to court the offence would be perjury. Whatever the truth is, let the police know at the earliest opportunity, it really will make your life easier in the long run.
2007-03-23 16:11:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
You imply they are simply throwing away the original statement and writing a totally different one. They can't AND DON'T do that.
What they can do is correct any mistakes made in a previous statements by submitting an additional statement covering the mistake and correcting it.
The Police can also bring to the notice of a Court matters not included in the original statement. This allows them to cover matters that have come to light since the original statement was made or to explain additional points that need covering as a result of further investigation. To me that is fair.
A major safeguard is English law is that the original statement must be retained and disclosed to you and your solicitor. That means that you can see the original statement as well as all additional statements. That means that if there are changes since the original statement was made, you can see exactly what has changed, ask why there are changes and challenge them in Court if the need arises.
The above is standard legal practise and has applied for several years.
2007-03-23 21:21:38 · answer #3 · answered by Captain Sarcasm 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Hi!
You can always ADD to a statement, but if you lie and you get found out, then you'll get done for wasting Police time and/or perverting the course of justice.
You cannot change the entire police statement I'm afraid.
Hope this helps!
2007-03-23 15:13:19 · answer #4 · answered by Moofie's Mom 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you are in UK and are talking about a witness statement you cant change it but can make a new one but the police will retain the other one.This is very common when people decide they don't really want to prosecute someone but be careful in the wording and don't say you lied in the first one.
2007-03-24 02:42:20 · answer #5 · answered by frankturk50 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Can't answer for the UK, but having been a cop for 17 years, I can give you an educated guess.
The statement given by you (or whomever) was more than likely a part of a criminal investigation. The facts stated in the statement were used for further investigation. If the whole thing was a lie prepare for perjury charges to be filed against you (or whomever). We file them here fairly regularly, especially if we used that information to obtain a search or arrest warrant.
Now, if there a mistake of fact that needs to be corrected, that is another matter. No big deal on that one.
2007-03-23 15:09:53 · answer #6 · answered by Steve H 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
You can't change the actual statement. You have to make a NEW statement. This will then be held along with your original statement and both will be presented to court.
2007-03-23 15:06:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
You are allowed to make changes to a statement up to the day it is in court. But sometimes the Court will take a dim view on this.
2007-03-24 21:56:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you deliberately lied and you get found out your off to jail my friend, perjury it's called.
If however you missed something out of a statement for what ever reason, then yes, you can add to it later in the form of an additional statement.
2007-03-23 18:18:28 · answer #9 · answered by Roaming free 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can't retract any statement. However, if you feel there were certain conditions that affected the information you gave on the original statement, (hunger, tiredness, lack of legal representation, drunkeness, intimidation, age etc), then these may be taken into account.
2007-03-23 15:08:17 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋