Taking Child Witnesses Out of the Crown Court: A Live Link Initiative
| Author | Richard Applegate |
| Published date | 01 May 2006 |
| Date | 01 May 2006 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975800601300203 |
International Review
of
Victimology,
2006,
Vol.13,
pp
179-200
0269-7580/06
$10
© A B
Academic
Publishers
-Printed
in
Great
Britain
TAKING
CHILD
WITNESSES
OUT
OF
THE
CROWN
COURT:
A
LIVE
LINK
INITIATIVE
RICHARD
APPLEGATE*
School
of
Sociology,
Politics and
Law,
University
of
Plymouth,
UK
ABSTRACT
This
article
describes
an
innovative
project
in
England
whereby
child
witnesses
gave
evidence
via
a
video
link
from
a
building
away
from
the
court
complex.
The
research
indicates
that
this
was
seen
as
an
effective
method
for
children
to
give
their
evidence;
removing
most
of
the
negative
issues
relating
to
giving
evidence
either
in
person
from
the
court
room,
or
from
a
live
video
link
from
a
room
routinely
located
within
the
court
complex.
This
arrangement
was
seen
to
encourage
children
to
give
evidence
in
the
first
instance;
to
improve
its
quality;
and
to
soften
the
traditional
adversarial
nature
of
the
criminal
justice
system.
Professionals
in
the
Crown
Court
have
accepted
live
video
link
technology
as
part
of
their
work
role
and
although
the
children
concerned,
and
their
parents,
were
not
so
positive
they
also
considered
it
to
be
a
very
good
way
for
them
to
give
evidence.
Keywords:
witnesses,
live
video
link,
Crown
Court,
England
&
Wales
INTRODUCTION
Giving evidence before a Crown Court can be a traumatic experience. Where the
witness is a young victim, especially when the defendant is a relative or close
family friend, the stress caused
is
often intense. This has at last been acknow-
ledged in England and Wales where children are no longer required
to
give
evidence in court and now give their evidence in chief and are cross-examined
in
cases
of
abuse or violence using pre-recorded video taped evidence, and
in
other cases may use a live video link system from a separate room within a
Crown Court complex. However such court buildings are not 'child friendly',
and in addition it may be that
in
being brought
to
court the child victim (or
witness) may be confronted by the defendant or his/her supporters. Providing a
video link from a building away from the court setting may offer a better
alternative.
The Young Witness Support Project in Devon and Cornwall run by the
National Society for the Protection
of
Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) therefore
established a pilot scheme in Exeter, England whereby young victims and
witnesses would be offered the option of giving their evidence via a remote live
*School of
Sociology,
Politics
and
Law,
University
ofPlymouth,
15
Portland
Villas,
Drakes
Circus,
Plymouth,
UK.
(dick.applegate@plymouth.ac.uk)
180
video
link
based
in
a building situated
away
from
the
court
complex,
in
order
to
provide the 'best possible environment
for
young
witnesses'
to
give
evidence,
including the provision of
support
workers
who
have
no
knowledge
of,
or
involvement
in
the
case
(NSPCC,
2002:
p.
2).
This
article
provides
an
evaluation
of
the
scheme
based
on
interviews
conducted
with
children, their parents,
police,
and
Crown
Court
officials.
THE
RESEARCH
IN
CONTEXT
Although
the
secondary
victimisation
suffered
by
victims
giving
evidence
in
court
has
been
long
recognised,
support
for
victims
and
other
witnesses
in
court
has
been
late
arriving
in
England
and
Wales.
Whilst
in
the
U.S.A.
emerging
victim services
in
the
1980s
coalesced
around
the
courtroom
setting
(OVC,
2001a;
200lb),
in
England
and
Wales
support
for
the
victim
was
initially
provided
mostly
at
the
time
of
the
offence,
and
it
was
only
after pressure,
for
example
from
Victim
Support,
that
court-based
services
were
established
(NAVSS,
1988;
Raine
and
Smith,
1991;
Mawby
and
Walklate,
1994).
These
developments
gained
momentum
during
the
Major
government's
embracing
of
consumerism
(Doern,
1993;
Connolly
et al.,
1994;
Wilson,
1996),
leading
to
the
first
Victims
Charter
(Home
Office,
1990)
and
its
successor
(Home
Office,
1995).
The
Home
Office
now
regularly
monitors
the
courtroom
experiences of
victims
and
witnesses
as
'consumers'.
The
continued importance of
this
issue
to
consecutive
governments
is
illustrated
by
the
publication of New Deal for
Victims and Witnesses: National strategy
to
deliver improved services
(Home
Office,
2003)
that
underlines
the
importance
of 'good
customer
service'
and
sets
out
to
reassure intimidated
and
vulnerable
witnesses
that
more
options
to
mini-
mise
attendance
at
court,
such
as
live
television
links,
will
be
fully
and
effective-
ly
implemented.
However
this
document
does
not
specifically
target children.
The
impact of
crime
and
the
criminal justice
process
on
children
has
also
been
acknowledged
(Morgan
and
Zedner,
1992),
but
reform
has
been
marked
by
concerns
to
balance
the
interests of
the
child
with
the
interests of
the
legal
process
(Welbourne,
2002).
Nevertheless
both
the
Crown
Prosecution Service
Statement on the Treatment
of
Victims and Witnesses
(www.cps.gov/home/vic-
tims)
and
The Couns Chaner
(www.court
service.gov.uk)
detail
the
standards
that can
be
expected
and
the
avenues
of complaint
for
those
who
are
unhappy
with
the
level
of
service
they
receive.
Equally,
at
local level
in
Devon
and
Cornwall
the
Force Policing Chaner (www.devon-cornwall.police.uk)
makes
special reference
to
child
victims
and
witnesses.
However there
are
special
issues
in
respect of
children
as
witnesses in
criminal cases
that
relate
more
directly
to
the
problems
of bridging
the
gap
between the interests of
the
witness
and
the
interests of
the
legal
system,
and
of
the
child
victim
being
plunged
into
the
adult
world
of
the
court
system,
issues
which,
despite
the
rhetoric of
consumerism,
remain
difficult
to
ameliorate
within
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