Are police allowed to take statements from intoxicated witnesses or victims, or are they required to wait until the witness/victim has sobered up?
2007-07-23 12:04:37 · 7 answers · asked by Diagoras 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Statements can be taken at any time. Statements can always be challenged, or individuals can be cross examined at a later date.
2007-07-23 12:38:02 · answer #1 · answered by CGIV76 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The fact a witness was intoxicated would affect its credibility. Any officer taking such a statement should note their observation of the level of intoxication. It also depends on the purpose of the statement. If they have arrived on a scene and are trying to sort out what has or is happening, the standards would be different from those for a statement to be used in court.
2007-07-23 13:51:58 · answer #2 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The level of intoxication is critical.
The police are not prohibited from talking with intoxicated victims and witnesses. In fact, the police often encounter people in that condition when investigating crimes. It is important to talk to people when incidents are fresh in their minds. If the police have doubts about the witnesses' capacity (alcohol or drug use, for example), they may re-interview the witnesses at a later time in addition to speaking with them at or near the time of the offense.
A witness' level of impairment will go to the witness' credibility. So the police should look for physical evidence or independent witnesses that support/contradict the intoxicated person's account.
2007-07-23 13:23:24 · answer #3 · answered by Darla N 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have taken statements from intoxicated people...but I have also said that the person was intoxicated. The job of the follow-up investigator is to get a new statement when that person is sober.
2007-07-23 20:20:51 · answer #4 · answered by Vindicaire 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was accused of an assault the police sent the alleged victim and his witness home together because they were to intoxicated to give a statement at the time they went the next day and took statements from the couple can I chalange the statements
The police also stated that there were no marks bruises or redness to the alleged victim but they still held me in custody over night
2015-05-13 02:02:18 · answer #5 · answered by Callum Macleod 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They can take a statement, but it is usually a practice not to do so. They wait till the person sobers up, so their statement cannot be easily challenged by the other side. Also for a drunk to come in report something stolen, often has been misplaced and they remember when they sober up.
2007-07-23 12:09:18 · answer #6 · answered by danielss429 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The cop would be incompetent to take a statement from an intoxicated person unless that person is under arrest for DWI or similar thing.
2007-07-23 12:08:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋