17 Witness Statement: The Basic Structure

Have you ever seen someone fall at a public park or ice rink? Have you ever been driving when the car in front of you started weaving dangerously in and out of its lane? Have you ever overheard someone harassing another student at school or co-worker? If so, you might be called upon to make a witness statement. A witness is someone who sees, hears, or otherwise observes an incident that could have serious legal consequences. When that person describes their observations of an incident and swears to the truth of those observations, they’re making a witness statement. Having a witness perspectives helps the triers of fact (judges and juries) by authenticating, disproving, or simply clarifying what happened so that they can decide what the fair consequences should be.

In movies and shows, we often only see witnesses in situations where police officers are investigating crimes. In the real world, however, witness statements are made in many situations outside of law enforcement, too. Witness statements help investigators resolve insurance claims, write injury reports, document Human Resources complaints, or conduct research as part of a public inquiry. Knowing how to take a witness statement is an important communication skill across many industries and in many professional roles. If an observer can describe what happened in the build-up, during the event, and in the after-actions, they can BE A helpful witness. Learn the “BEA” structure to help someone “BE A” witness.
Each different employer will have their own conventions, but the typical basic elements are:

1. Date, Time, Place, and Observer:
   • “Where is the statement being taken?”
   • “What is that day’s date?”
   • “What time did the statement start? What time did it finish?”
   • “Who is observing the witness as they make their statement?”
2. Witness Identification
   • “Who is the Witness?”
   • “What was their role in this situation?”
3. The BEA:
   • the Build-Up: “what happened before?”
   • the Event: “what happened to make this a significant incident?”
   • the After-Actions: “what happened when it was all over?”
4. Oath
   • attests to the truth of the statement
   • attests that the statement was given freely
5. Signatures
   • the witness signs and dates the statement
   • an observer signs and dates the statement

Complete the activities on the following pages to help you learn the correct sequence of these parts and to help you understand what the parts mean.