Be careful when signing anything
Special Care
statement and I sat in and signed it too.
The policeman taking the statement wrote it on a standard form in his
own handwriting, then asked us to sign it.
Whenever I sign anything, my habit is to make sure nothing can be
added to it after I sign it, and with that in mind, I might write 'END
OF DOCUMENT' and then sign after those words,
or, alternatively,
I draw a horizontal line under the text and then a diagonal line below
that, so that anything added on afterwards will have a line drawn
through it in advance.
I noticed that the form the policeman was using had a big, full-page
box for the statement, the text of which did not fill the box, and
then at the bottom of the page was the box for my signature.
I told him of my habit of drawing the horizontal and diagonal line
below anything I signed as a precaution against unauthorised
additions.
He replied with a bit of gobbledygook, indicating he did not want me
to draw the two lines.
As the case was of no great importance, I didn't argue about it.
There was nothing to prevent the cop from adding to the statement, in
that blank space, after he got back to his desk, so that my signature
would appear below additional text which I had not authorised.
I'd advise people to be careful about that when signing anything
important - meaning draw that horizontal and diagonal line below the
text so that any blank space is 'cancelled' in advance.
Mrcheerful
I have given several witness statements in the recent past, on each occasion
I signed immediately after the text and again in the box at the bottom.
This is the standard procedure.
Special Care
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It's still best to draw the two lines as a precaution.
Paul Nutteing (valid email address in post script )
news:69c2ab5d-536b-476e...@p8g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
There must be a whole set of guidance for this
sort of thing.
Anyone know where to find it?
Technical term for it all ?
It includes why legalese does
not have punctuation other than full stop.
Why alterations have to be initialled.
All the width of the paper must be used , no gaps in the
text. Text should run from one page to the
next (numbered), not at the end of a sentence.
Pages to be written on , on the
original pad , for ESDA if necessary.
I had communication to police Chief Insp level to try
to get to the bottom of apparently missing
3 pages from a 5 page witness statement.
His reply
"The original statement is two
pages long, and it is quite clear that the officer recording the statement
incorrectly put the figure "1" in the space marked "consisting of ...
pages".
This figure "1" was crossed through with a squiggly line making it appear on
the
photocopy as a "5". The number "2" was placed alongside the crossing out.
Whilst the alteration was not initialled by the person making the
statement, it would appear that the failure to get this alteration
initialled was
an oversight by the officer taking the statement. There have certainly not
been
any pages removed from the statement itself, and you are incorrect in
assuming
that this was the case. "
A squiggly line that certainly looked like a 5, not a fully curvy line
then crossed thyough with a vertical 1
The text did not flow from one page to the next and changed topic
between them, adding to the suspicious nature.
ps
What they aren't telling you about DNA profiles
and what Special Branch don't want you to know.
http://www.nutteing2.50megs.com/dnapr.htm
or nutteingd in a search engine.
Valid email nutteing@fastmail.....fm (remove 4 of the 5 dots)
Ignore any other apparent em address used to post this message -
it is defunct due to spam.
Paul Nutteing (valid email address in post script )
5 crossed out with a vertical 1 or 1 crossed out
with a linear+curvey squiggle ?
http://www.nutteing2.50megs.com/nov22.gif
R. Mark Clayton
"Mrcheerful" <nbk...@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message
news:0KZIm.2322$Ym4....@text.news.virginmedia.com...
Ditto, although not so recentely.
Special Care
wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -
That doesn't preclude the possibility of some unauthorised text being
put into the blank space when the cop goes back to his desk, the new
text appearing above your signature at the bottom of the page.
So drawing the two lines on the blank space is a wise precaution.
I'd advise everyone to do it.
Dick Holland is dead, but his spirit lives on.
Mrcheerful
but your signature in the middle of the text would prove where you had
agreed the text up to that point, anything after could be realistically
contested.