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3.1 For any vulnerable or intimidated witness the court must take into account the nature and circumstances of the offence and the age of the witness and any of the following factors that appear to be relevant:
Social and cultural background and ethnic origin of witness
Domestic and employment circumstances of the witness
Any religious beliefs or political opinions of the witness
Any behaviour towards the person by the accused, the family or associates of the accused or any other person likely to be an accused or a witness in proceedings.
3.2 It is essential that the witness is asked for their views as any court considering granting a measure must take account of all circumstances of the case and in particular the views of the witness when deciding where the interests of justice lie.
3.3 Section 5 of the MG2 asks for views of interested parties such as a parent or guardian. It should only be completed in appropriate cases where the views of the witness can be supported or assisted by such a person. This may include:
the views of the carer about the witness going to court
how supportive is the carer of the child and the prosecution
strengths and weaknesses of the child, such as:
developmental age
linguistic and emotional development (e.g. the child’s level of understanding, or grasp of time intervals – may be relevant to specimen charges).
attention span (relevant to requests for breaks when giving evidence)
the child’s preference, the carer’s and police view about how the child should give evidence (i.e. use of screens, TV link, and/or other special measures).
Charges should be numbered sequentially.
Additional charges should be numbered in sequence following on from the first set of charges.
Record any reply after charge contemporaneously.
Charges must follow the precise wording contained on the Police National Legal Database.
Include dialect where appropriate to aid provision of interpreter at court.
If specimen or additional charges, this should be clearly marked at the top of the form.
The purpose of this form is:
To record the specific offence(s) that a defendant has been charged with
To record the defendant’s reply after charge
To record the grant of unconditional bail.
Variation
Enter either the varied condition’s details or state “conditions removed”.
Variation
It is only necessary to list the conditions that have been changed. If an MG4A computer generated form is used, police may wish to print out all the conditions of bail following an application for variation.
Variation
State reasons for the variation.
State specific reasons why the conditions are necessary.
If a security or surety has changed enter “surety/security changed” and complete a new MG4C.
Variation
Enter the number of each bail condition to be varied. If all conditions are removed enter “all conditions removed” and explain why in the right hand column.
Variation
Only complete this when conditions have been varied so that the most recent conditions can be easily identified.
If conditions involve security or surety, MG6C should also be completed.
The purpose of this form is:
For the custody officer to grant conditional bail and record those conditions
For the custody officer to vary conditions on which bail was initially granted.
If application granted complete an MG4A
This section will be completed by the custody officer.
Describe here what variation has been requested by the defendant.
Describe here what reasons the defendant has given for seeking the variation.
Is this a first or a subsequent request to vary the conditions?
MG4B REQUEST TO VARY CONDITIONAL BAIL
The purpose of this form is:
To document a defendant’s request to vary police imposed conditional bail. It should be passed to a custody officer for a decision
This form must not be used if a defendant has already appeared in court to answer charges or if a court has imposed conditional bail.
If there are reasons to believe that the suspect will commit further offences or interfere with witnesses then a surety or security should not be used.
If the surety or security is the result of a variation in conditional bail, then enter the number of the variation in this box as shown in the accompanying MG4A.
Inform the surety of any variation to police bail conditions. Failure to do so may affect the court’s decision on seizure.
In order to withdraw surety or security. See notes 2.5 and 2.6.
If a surety or security is to be taken, rule through the section that does not apply.
This form may only be used in conjunction with MG4A (Grant or Variation of Conditional bail).
The purpose of this form is:
To record details and the undertaking of a surety or security taken by the custody officer to ensure the attendance of an accused at court, or return to a police station following release from police custody.
This form may be used in addition to other police bail conditions where appropriate.