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GUIDANCE ON INTERVIEWING CHILD WITNESSES IN SCOTLAND - Supporting Child Witnesses Guidance Pack
INTRODUCTION
1 A Working Group on Child Witness Support was established in 1995 by the (then) Lord Advocate with the aim of improving arrangements for the support and preparation for court of child witnesses, and enhancing practice in relation to all child witnesses across the full range of legal proceedings, without jeopardising the rights or responsibilities of others in the court process. The Working Group reported in 1999 with 16 sets of recommendations. This document contains guidance developed in response to recommendation 7.1 which stated that in order to improve the conduct of interviews and precognitions with young witnesses, "all relevant organisations" should be invited to:
- co-operate in the development of guidance on the conduct and recording of investigative interviews of children by police officers and social workers, on the basis that implementation of standard guidance would improve the quality and consistency of interviews and assist in reducing the need for others to re-interview the child about the circumstances of the alleged offence.
2 The guidance starts from the premise that every child has a right to protection from harm, abuse and exploitation. Where a child has suffered from such treatment, and agencies involved in child protection are called to intervene, the child's welfare should be of paramount importance when considering their needs and that of justice. Care must be taken that children do not suffer any undue distress during investigations into allegations or information received. Moreover, agencies should endeavour to treat children as individuals, and involve them in decisions that affect their future. These principles are founded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
3 The guidance has been written primarily in the context of criminal proceedings and Scottish Children's Reporter Administration proceedings. As such, its aim is to:
- improve the quality of investigative interviews and the sharing of information;
- reduce the number of times the child is interviewed; and
- set out good practice for any organisation involved in interviewing children who may be witnesses,
all with a view to safeguarding the welfare of children. However, it will also be relevant for all professionals who undertake investigative interviews with child witnesses. 1
4 The guidance was commissioned from Dr Amina Memon and Lynn Hulse at Aberdeen University. Their work was overseen by a steering group with representatives from the Scottish Executive Justice Department, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, NCH Scotland, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Association of Directors of Social Work, the Law Society for Scotland, the Scottish Association of Community Child Health and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration. A full list of those involved is given in the Appendix C.
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