The Witness As The Foundation Of Criminal Justice
K. Sainanda, Dr. N. SudarshanOct 13, 202610.5281/zenodo.23342790pp. 490–51526 pages
There is no doubt that the criminal justice system relies on the just and correct evaluation of whether the offence was committed and by whom. The role of witnesses is to provide information on the (in)direct circumstances or participants of the alleged offence. They can be useful both for investigations, for example – finding the offender, and for the adjudication process, for example – proving the guilt of the accused. Thus, witnesses can be an essential part of the (criminal) justice system. Although witnesses might be critical for solving a crime, the statement of a witness is not necessarily true, reliable or relevant. There are various reasons why a witness might not be a reliable source of information – partial observations due to limited capabilities or psychological and emotional factors (stress, bias, desire to lie), limited involvement due to intimidation, psychological trauma, social pressure or lack of interest. The criminal justice system has to consider both the usefulness of witnesses for detecting criminals and potential issues with using witnesses for proving the guilt of the offender.