SA Can the police use a retracted statement?

[Lost.]

Can the police use a retracted statement in court?

 

[Gorodetsky]

Hi lost,
They can.
What they are supposed to do is present the date and time each statement is made... omission of a statement is not telling the whole truth...
Of course, if the statements say different or even opposite things the magistrate/judge will develop an opinion as to the reason and the truthfulness of the witness and various statements.

Oh and statements are sworn statements, so lying in them is a crime and if it pisses the cops off, the person may be charged.


Regards
Gorodetsky

 

[Lost.]

Oh and statements are sworn statements, so lying in them is a crime and if it pisses the cops off, the person may be charged.

The statement was taken from me while my blood alcohol was 0.103. I feel the statement was forced and I signed it because I wanted to go home as it was 4am. I don't even know what was in the statment as I was refused a copy when I asked for one.
I retracted it as soon as possible the day after because I felt this way.

The statment in question has been the driving force behind a AVO and an assult charge against my husband.
Because of this I am not unable to run our business. I am now looking at huge debts as it has dragged on to six weeks now where I have not been able to have contact with my husband. And it does not look like they will drop it any time soon.

As I am the "protected person" I can't even go to the court dates so have to rely on third hand information about what is going on.

I am so frustrated and angry that the system is able to do this to me when I do not need protection. I need it all sorted so we can move on with our lives.

 

[Gorodetsky]

Hi lost,
I'm not a solicitor.
Ok. So some bad stuff went down. The cops were called/turned up. You were drunk. And now your husband has an AVO and an assault charge.

The cops shouldn't interview you while you were drunk.
I think only a suspect has a right to their statement. I could be wrong.

The cops are like this because DV is a hot topic at the moment. It used to be that the cops under-policed it.

If you know who your husband's lawyer is you could phone them and offer to make a statement to them. Tell them you were intoxicated when the cops interviewed you. Tell them you just wanted to go home at 4am. Tell them what happened.

Don't blab what happened on this forum. Cops read it.

I hope this helps
Regards
Gorodetsky