“Every Link in the Chain”

Abstract

Witness statements are typically produced, in England and Wales as elsewhere, through dialogue between a police officer and a witness which enables the officer scribe for the witness. We might expect that this process would predominantly involve transforming the witness’ speech into writing. However a surprising range of voices other than those of witnesses can be identified in witness statements. Rock’s case study illustrates the diversity of sources which come to influence just one statement. She examines interview talk in order to demonstrate how texts from elsewhere in the investigation, from the wider legal system and even from the media penetrate the witness’ statement. She considers the functions and such textual travel drawing on Smith’s notion of intertextual hierarchy (2005; 2006).

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