ADVOKATE

The eight points a witness statement should cover when identification is in issue, the Code D rules on first descriptions, and the mnemonic officers use.

The expansion

A: amount of time the suspect was under observation
D: distance between the witness and the suspect
V: visibility, including light, weather and eyesight
O: obstructions to the view
K: known or seen before
A: any reason to remember the suspect
T: time elapsed between the observation and the identification
E: errors or discrepancies between the first description and the suspect

What it is for

Eye-witness identification is easy to get wrong and hard to test later. ADVOKATE is the checklist an officer works through when taking a statement from a witness who saw the offender, so the statement records the conditions of the sighting and not just the conclusion.

Where it comes from

PACE Code D does not list the ADVOKATE factors. They are training shorthand for the matters Code D and the courts consider when weighing identification evidence. What Code D does require is the first description. Paragraph 3.1: "A record shall be made of the description of the suspect as first given by the eye-witness." It must be kept in a form that can be given to the suspect or their solicitor, and be made "before the eye-witness takes part in any identification procedures".

Where the suspect is not yet known and a witness is taken to a place to see if they can pick someone out, paragraph 3.2(e) requires the accompanying officer to record "how it was made and the conditions at the time (e.g., the distance the eye-witness was from the suspect, the weather and light)", whether the witness's attention was drawn to the suspect and why, and anything either party said about the identification. Paragraph 3.2(b) says care must be taken not to give the witness information about the suspect's description or direct their attention to any individual.

Suffolk Constabulary's Interviews, Interview Recordings, Written Records and Statements Policy (version 4.1, published 1 September 2026) sets the mnemonic out letter by letter under "Witness Identification Evidence", and tells officers: "If identity is an issue, then include a full ten-point description and the points of ADVOKATE." Officers' own statements include it only where identification is in issue.

When it is used

When taking any witness statement in which the witness identifies, or may later be asked to identify, the suspect; and before any video identification, parade or group identification under Code D paragraphs 3.5 to 3.10, since the first description must exist before the procedure.

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Sources

Last updated 19 October 2026. Reviewed 19 October 2026