Court-exhibit redaction is the removal of personal data from the documents attached to a witness statement or an application. CPR PD 32 requires an exhibit to be verified and identified by the witness and to remain separate from the statement itself. anonym.plus reads scans with local OCR, then marks each identifier on your own device.
When this applies
Exhibits are often photographs of bank statements, identity documents, or signed contracts full of raw data. Under CPR 32.19 a party is taken to admit the authenticity of a disclosed document unless it serves a notice to prove, so an exhibit whose face has been altered without a clear record invites a challenge. Redact cleanly and keep a note of what came out.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open each exhibit in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR (Tesseract) reads scans and image PDFs.
- The tool flags NI numbers, account numbers, and birth dates.
- Review flags on faint scans with extra care.
- Black out or swap the confirmed identifiers.
- Save the clean exhibits locally.
What you need to provide
- The exhibits (PDF, image scan, or DOCX).
- An operator (Redact suits image evidence).
- Optional batch of up to 20 exhibits per run.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | scan: QQ 22 44 11 B → [NINO] |
| Financial | UK_BANK_NUMBER | statement acct → [ACCOUNT] |
| Names | PERSON | signatory M. Cole → [NAME] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | DOB on ID → [DOB] |
| Location | LOCATION | home address → [ADDRESS] |
| Contact | PHONE_NUMBER | phone on form → [PHONE] |
Compliance achieved
- Respects CPR PD 32, which asks that an exhibit be verified and identified by the witness and kept separate from the statement.
- Keeps the document's face legible, so the deemed admission of authenticity under CPR 32.19 is not put in doubt by a sloppy cut.
- Holds the collateral-use limit in CPR 31.22(1) where the exhibit came from the other side's disclosure.
- Prepares for the access route in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38, which reaches exhibits placed before the court.
- Local OCR reads image exhibits, so printed identity details are caught too.
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Limitations & cautions
OCR on faint or skewed scans can miss a digit or letter. Check the flags on low-quality images. The tool marks named items but cannot tell when a unique image clue identifies someone.
Frequently asked questions
Can the tool redact a photographed bank statement?
Yes. Local OCR reads the image first, then flags the account and personal data so you can black it out before the exhibit attaches to the statement.
Does redacting an exhibit affect its authenticity?
CPR 32.19 deems a disclosed document authentic unless the other side serves a notice to prove it. Keep the rest of the page legible and record what you removed, so the redaction is a masking exercise rather than an alteration in dispute.
Is a black-out reversible?
A true Redact removes the pixels. If you need to re-link later, use Replace with a name map instead, and guard that map.