Conception On Police Officer Witness System

Can a police officer appear at court as a witness? The answer to this question is straight and simple either in a continental-law country or in a common-law country: Any police officer has the due status to serve as a witness and, where necessary, the obligation to appear as a witness at court pursuant to the demand by either the prosecuting party or the accused party or under a summon from the judge. The purpose for a police officer to appear at court as a witness is to have himself/herself subject to the open production of evidence, evidence challenge and cross examination by both the prosecuting party and the accused party, by which the court can effectively preclude the illegitimate evidence, if any, to the ultimate extent. In China, no matter proceeding from using foreign police's experience for reference, or making an analysis under the theory of procedural law, or considering China's judicial practices, a police officer should also appear at court as a witness. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the fact that a police officer is different from other kinds of witnesses in some aspects results in the special features that each of the police officer witnesses have. In the meantime, a police officer should, as both an individual himself/herself and a representative of his/her affiliated public security department, assume the corresponding liabilities and obligations when he/she appears at court as a witness. Under China's current judicial environment, we are, after detecting some possible obstacles existing in the system of police officer serving as a witness at court, raising some conceptions on creation of and guarantee measures for the police officer witness system.