Police told to use Wikipedia for court preparation

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By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Policing, 3rd July 2009 09:22 GMT

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The Crown Prosecution Service is telling police officers to use Wikipedia to prepare for court cases.

Mike Finn, an expert witness on martial arts and weapons, told the Police Review he was involved in a case in the Midlands and asked to prepare a report on a weapon.

According to the Telegraph, Finn said: "The material they gave me had been printed out from Wikipedia.

"The officer in charge told me he was advised by the CPS to use the website to find out about the weapon and he was about to present it in court.

"I looked at the information and some of it had substance and some of it was completely made up."

Finn said he had heard of at least three other cases were police were told by the CPS to get onto Wikipedia. He added: "When an organisation like the CPS tells you to look at Wikipedia, you might believe it is some kind of authority. It is unsettling that potentially unsafe and inaccurate evidence could be presented in court." ®

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