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 In 1998 the Government passed the long awaited Crime and Disorder Bill, which would shape a whole new agenda for Policing bodies and other agencies. One of the key issues was to create a partnership of all agencies within the youth justice system to prevent re-offending and promote welfare and gain the publics confidence in our legal system.
One of the directives, to quote from the Home Office's guidance notes are 'The statutory principal aim of preventing offending provides a new starting point for multi-agency working in the youth justice system. It provides a clear bench mark against which to measure success.' Professional Witnesses are part of this multi-agency.
Due to this being a new procedure, the use of the Witnesses has met with some confusion -
Who are they? How are they qualified? And what can they achieve, that we cannot?
First and foremost the Witness is someone of a neutral territory, someone from the outside, who would work with a body to investigate crime and disorder and other areas of potential difficulty. The role of the Witness is to make a case study of a given area or situation and try to obtain documentary evidence to be passed to the agency or Court process if necessary.
Witnesses are well trained people, who understand Law and can blend into environments, they understand street situations and what to look for, and they have the ability to communicate at all levels and are open minded for all situations.
 The most important attribute for a Witness is to not have a fixed mind or agenda. A Witness will always be neutral - and has to be.
At commencement of employment a body instructing the witness will have and issue of hearsay or mild evidence, which has been difficult for the body to prove. The Witness will be well aware of this as well as understanding the bodies' legal position.
A Witness provides a Non-biased opinion, which places the employer in a position of strength and neutrality, and is welcomed, if a case went to a court process.
The role of a Witness is numerous. Clearwater Special Projects Ltd can provide Witnesses to investigate areas of Civil Difficulty, to include illegal activities and intimidation as well as witness protection if necessary. All operatives of Clearwater Special Projects Ltd are of a Military background or have 5 years experience in like-minded detail, are aware of current legislation and are disciplined and thorough. We work within this Multi-Agency and we follow correct procedures and protocol, to help various agencies achieve their goals and create a better working environment for them or living environment for their clients.
 CSPL have and still continue to provide Professional Witnesses. We have achieved results and obtained evidence in different circumstances where others have not wished to testify. Our surveillance operators are absolute professionals and as such are very well trained, experienced and skilled.
Our operators have close observation military experience or must have undertaken our surveillance and evidence gathering training programmes. Close observation and presentation is a specialist skill and we are exact with whom we employ. A Professional Witness must have understanding of law and human rights legislation as well as how to present documentary or corroborated evidence as well as statements.
We work with Councils, Housing Associations and Corporate Bodies and we have proven that we can obtain results in very difficult circumstances.
FOOTNOTE: We do not provide intrusive surveillance services.
For Councils and Housing Associations - our work will comply with RIPA (Regulation of Investigative Powers Act). If you are unsure of this act or whether something is intrusive or not please contact the Clearwater Management team for more details in absolute confidence.
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