‘It’s really good…why hasn’t it happened earlier?’ Professionals’ perspectives on the benefits of communication assistance in the New Zealand youth justice system
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Author | Margaret Dudley,Clare McCann,Kelly Howard |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865819890377 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
‘It’s really good...why hasn’t
it happened earlier?’
Professionals’ perspectives
on the benefits of
communication assistance
in the New Zealand youth
justice system
Kelly Howard , Clare McCann and
Margaret Dudley
The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract
Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for witnesses and defendants in
justice settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties. This new role
in New Zealand is modelled on the role of the intermediary in England and Wales. To date
however, there has been no published review or evaluation on how communication assis-
tance is functioning and being viewed by professionals in practice. This study provides a
qualitative analysis of professionals’ perspectives (n ¼28 participants) on the benefits of
communication assistance for young people facing criminal charges in the New Zealand
youth justice system. The main finding is that professionals are overwhelmingly in support
of this new role. Professionals considered that communication assistance helps put the young
person at the centre of youth justice, brings new knowledge and a fresh perspective, and
helps the system to function as it ideally should.
Keywords
Communication assistance, defendant, Evidence Act, family group conference,
intermediaries, vulnerable, youth justice
Date received: 21 June 2019; accepted: 28 October 2019
Corresponding author:
Kelly Howard, Auckland University, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand.
Email: kelly.howard@auckland.ac.nz
Australian & New Zealand Journal of
Criminology
2020, Vol. 53(2) 265–284
!The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865819890377
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Introduction
Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for individuals in justice
settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties (Henderson,
2016). Since 2012, specialist support for communication impaired witnesses and defend-
ants has been occurring in New Zealand (NZ) pursuant to existing legislation
(Henderson, 2016). This relatively new role is being modelled on an analogous role in
England and Wales: that of the intermediary. Northern Ireland and more recently,
New South Wales (NSW), Australia have also adopted intermediary schemes based
on the England/Wales model (see Cooper & Mattison, 2017 for a review). At the
time of writing, an intermediary pilot programme was also underway in Victoria,
Australia (Magistrates’ Court Victoria, 2018). The systems in Northern Ireland,
NSW, Victoria and NZ have been inspired by their England/Wales counterpart, but
the way they look and function in practice is different (Howard, McCann, & Dudley,
2019b; Cooper & Mattison, 2017). The academic literature on the intermediary systems
outside of England/Wales is relatively sparse. As far as the authors are aware, their
work is the only published research on how the NZ equivalent of an intermediary is
functioning and being viewed by professionals in practice.
The England/Wales intermediary: A brief overview
The England/Wales intermediary model has been written about extensively (Henderson,
2015; O’Mahony, 2009; Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 2006, 2015). It is a role that was first
used in the England/Wales criminal justice system in 2004 and developed out of concern
for the treatment of vulnerable witnesses giving evidence in police interviews and court
(Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 2006). An intermediary is a professional with specialist skills
and knowledge who is appointed to assist the police and/or court to obtain the best
evidence from a vulnerable witness (Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 2006). This assistance is
based on the findings of specialist assessment and recommendations (see Plotnikoff &
Woolfson, 2015 for case examples). Recommendations may include the use of visual
aids, the simplification of language, tools to minimise anxiety and stress and/or changes
to the environment such as different seating arrangements or the taking of breaks. Once
recommendations have been put in place, the role of the intermediary at police interview
or trial may be quite minimal (Plotnikoff & Woolfson, 2015). Intermediaries for defend-
ants do exist in England/Wales, but they are not included in the formal, regulated
system (Cooper & Wurtzel, 2013; Hoyano & Rafferty, 2017). As such, their appoint-
ment is more ad hoc and their role is not as clearly defined.
Communication assistance in New Zealand: A brief overview
The role of the communication assistant in NZ shares its roots with the England/Wales
intermediary, butthe way it functions in practice is different (Howard et al., 2019b). It too
is based on specialistassessment and recommendationsto facilitate better communication.
The focus however is wider than providing assistance to give evidence. Communication
assistance is about facilitating broader understanding and participation in justice process-
es both inside and outside the courtroom, including in meetings with lawyers and for
266 Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 53(2)
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