Summary
In short
- A witness statement is a record used in General that captures what one person saw, heard or did, in their own words. It is built against Investigation good practice and forms part of the Incident and Investigation programme.
- Taken as soon as possible after an event, before memories fade or people talk to each other. Completed by the witness with an investigator present.
- The template holds 21 fields across 5 sections.
- Investigation good practice is investigation good practice. Established investigation method rather than a named standard.
- It connects to the rest of the library: linked to incidents.
What it is
What it is
What is a witness statement?
A witness statement is a record used in General that captures what one person saw, heard or did, in their own words. It is built against Investigation good practice and forms part of the Incident and Investigation programme.
When is a witness statement completed?
A witness statement is completed at the moment the event happens, rather than reconstructed afterwards. Taken as soon as possible after an event, before memories fade or people talk to each other.
When to use it
When to use it, and when not to
This record is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use it for
- The event or activity this record covers has occurred, or is about to
- The workspace is being set up, or the register needs an entry added or retired
- You are running the Incident and Investigation programme and this is one of its steps
- A linked record needs this one to exist: linked to incidents
Not for
- Risk Assessment, which the single risk assessment used across the whole business.
- Root Cause Analysis, which finds out why something happened rather than who was involved.
- Corrective and Preventive Action, which the single action record used everywhere.
- Anything outside General, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Standards
What it is built against
Investigation good practiceInvestigation good practice
Established investigation method rather than a named standard.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the witness statement template based on?+
It is built against Investigation good practice. Investigation good practice is investigation good practice. Established investigation method rather than a named standard.
What sections does the witness statement contain?+
There are 5 sections: header, witness, statement, related records, confirmation. Together they hold 21 fields, 12 of which are required.
How many witness statement records should we have?+
This is a singleton. One record per workspace, set up once and maintained, rather than one per event. Other templates refer back to it.
Which programme does the witness statement belong to?+
It is part of Incident and Investigation, Master Data and Foundations. A single case thread from the event to a verified corrective action, with regulatory reporting handled.
Can the witness statement template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it. Most teams install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust.
The agents
What the agents do with it
The form is the easy part. Keeping it current, routing it to the right owner and holding the evidence together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the witness statement library against your registers, routes each record to its owner, and keeps the evidence trail together.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in General — control tower. The orchestration layer. Registries and engines every other workspace reads from.
Meet General→Sources
Sources
- Investigation good practice — Investigation good practice