« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
GUIDANCE ON INTERVIEWING CHILD WITNESSES IN SCOTLAND - Supporting Child Witnesses Guidance Pack
APPENDIX C Members of the steering group
Barbara Brown, Scottish Executive Justice Department
Gerry Brown, The Law Society of Scotland
Delina Cowell, Scottish Executive Justice Department (Secretary)
Dr Helen Hammond, Scottish Association of Community Child Health
Kathleen Harper, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
David Henderson, Scottish Executive Justice Department (Chair)
Lynn Hulse, Aberdeen University
Dr Adrian Margerison, Scottish Association for Community Child Health
Gerry McGeoch, Association of Directors of Social Work
Maggie Mellon, NCH Scotland
Dr Amina Memon, Aberdeen University
Jackie Robeson, Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
Detective Superintendent Graham Vance, Strathclyde Police
The following also attended some meetings of the group:
Catherine Brown, Scottish Executive Justice Department
Michael Clancy, The Law Society of Scotland
Sergeant Gordon Cummings, Strathclyde Police
Jim Hazlett, Association of Directors of Social Work
Assistant Chief Constable Graeme Pearson, Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
The contribution of all those involved in preparing this guidance is gratefully acknowledged.
WIDER PROGRAMME OF WORK ON VULNERABLE AND CHILD WITNESSES
The guidance set out in this document is part of a wider programme of work on victims, witnesses and the modernisation of the justice system. This chart sets out the wider programme and how it contributes to our aims and objectives for vulnerable and child witnesses.
Our Aim
To increase support and improve standards of treatment of vulnerable witnesses to help them participate in the legal process and give their best evidence.
The Executive is committed to:
- securing a criminal justice system that fully supports victims and witnesses
- reforming the courts and the legal system to deal with cases more efficiently.
It is widely accepted that children under 16 and other vulnerable witnesses find the current legal process intimidating and distressing.
The Executive:
- has introduced a Bill to enable better protection and assistance to be given to vulnerable witnesses, particularly children - it is also intended that the Bill will help to support the development of a culture within the justice system which enables children and other vulnerable witnesses to participate fully
- has issued a White Paper on proposals for implementing reform of the High Court in Scotland including legislation, which will be of benefit to vulnerable witnesses
- has implemented the Scottish Strategy for Victims, including establishing a Witness Service in Sheriff and High Courts and a Victim Information and Advice Service within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
- co-ordinates the Child Witness Support Implementation Group to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Lord Advocate's Working Group on Child Witness Support.
Objectives
With regard to Vulnerable and Child Witnesses, these four key areas of work have commonly agreed objectives to:
- Improve information and support systems
- Improve case management and introduce greater certainty of time scales in sensitive cases
- Improve and increase the availability of special measures
- Improve the gathering and taking of evidence
Child Witnesses
For child witnesses, this includes:
Information and Support Systems | Case management | Special measures | Gathering evidence |
Publication and distribution of information for child witnesses and parents or carers CW | Consistent inter-agency operational support of young witnesses CW | Automatic entitlement to special measures VV | Improve conduct of interviews and precognition with young witnesses CW |
Victim Support services, 31 local services, overseen by Victim Support Scotland that provide support to victims of crime SSV | More thorough case preparation HCR | Supporter as a statutory special measure VV | Greater use of prior statements as main evidence VV |
Witness Service. Delivered by Victim Support Scotland, it provides information and practical and emotional support to all witnesses in the Sheriff and High Court cases SSV | Active case management by the judge including mandatory preliminary hearings HCR | Availability of special measures for witnesses in civil proceedings VV | Reduce stress of young witnesses in relation to identification of accused CW |
Victim Information and Advice SSV | Consideration of special measures and case management by the Judiciary CW | Streamlined notification procedure for special measures well in advance of trial VV | Dock identification unnecessary where witnesses have previously identified accused VV |
Publication and dissemination of leaflets and launch of website. www.scottishvictimsofcrime.co.ukSSV | Good practice guidance for judges and sheriffs and revision of the Lord Justice General's Memorandum on the treatment of Child Witnesses by the Courts, 1990 CW | Children under 12 in criminal cases about sexual or violent matters to give evidence without having to come to court VV | Abolition of competence test VV |
Clarify roles of those making decisions relating to therapy before court proceedings CW | Facilitate the prioritisation of cases with young witnesses CW | | Improve standards of questioning children in court CW |
Improve conduct of court familiarisation visits CW | Modernised time limits to avoid unnecessary adjournments HCR | | Restrictions on use of evidence relating to a witness's character and sexual behaviour in children's hearing court proceedings VV |
Refurbishment of court premises SSV | Greater certainty of trials including fixed diets HCR | | Discretionary power in non-sexual offence cases to prevent accused conducting his own defence VV |
Information on Vital Voices and the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Bill is on website www.scotland.gov.uk/vitalvoicesVV | Information about young witnesses to inform decision making in the legal process CW | | Questioning victims of sexual offences in court SSV |
Establish inter-agency mechanisms for collection and publication of statistics on young witnesses and court proceedings CW | | | Use of expert evidence to provide information about behaviour of a witness VV |
CW = Child Witness Support Implementation Group
VV = Vital Voices (Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Bill)
SSV = Scottish Strategy for Victims
HCR = Lord Bonomy's Reform of the High Court
| Relates to this publication |
« Previous | Contents | Next »