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INFORMATION ABOUT CHILD, YOUNG AND VULNERABLE ADULT WITNESSES TO INFORM DECISION-MAKING IN THE LEGAL PROCESS GOOD PRACTICE GUIDANCE
FOREWORDS
Foreword by the Deputy Minister for Justice
Scotland's justice system is undergoing major reform and our vision is for a system where all services work effectively and coherently together in the interests of justice to protect our citizens, safeguard their rights and help create communities which are stronger and safer. This includes reform of our court processes to manage cases more efficiently and effectively and improve the experience of victims and witnesses, as well as a commitment to special support for child and vulnerable witnesses.
This guidance is part of our commitment to child and vulnerable witnesses, and to improving our management of cases in the justice system. It contributes to the series on child witness support guidance and to the aim of improving practice consistently across the country. Information is needed at an early stage on child and vulnerable witnesses to inform key stages of case processing and planning for the management of the case in criminal or children's hearing court proceedings. Background information is essential for procurators fiscal and children's reporters to deal with some of the most sensitive cases.
This guidance is aimed primarily at the police and their communication with procurators fiscal and children's reporters, and is part of a broader context of information sharing and partnership working. I am grateful for the contributions of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and for their support in developing new systematic procedures for the communication of information and clarifying the type of information which is useful in decision making about cases.
The impact of the guidance on those agencies will be monitored and I hope will show an important contribution to improving how we support vulnerable and child witnesses involved in legal proceedings.
HUGH HENRY, MSP
Deputy Minister for Justice
Foreword by the Solicitor General for Scotland
The first contact witnesses usually have with the criminal justice system is through the police. This document seeks to ensure that important information about children and adult vulnerable witnesses is captured at an early stage to inform decision making and to help us to provide the most appropriate measures of support.
Involvement in the criminal justice system often raises a range of concerns, worries and uncertainties for potential witnesses, and these are frequently intensified when the witness is a child or a vulnerable adult. This information will be extremely useful to procurators fiscal and children's reporters when evaluating the best course of action to take, and this will become even more essential with the need to identify child, young and vulnerable adult witnesses for the provision of special measures in court under the provisions of the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004.
We ask a lot of our witnesses, particularly our vulnerable witnesses and it is, therefore, vital to reduce any unnecessary distress and anxiety that is caused simply by being considered a witness. It is clear that ongoing liaison is essential between all agencies in the criminal justice system and it is very encouraging that such strong networks are now developing with effective collaborative working on the ground.
ELISH ANGIOLINI, QC
Solicitor General for Scotland
Photograph courtesy of The Herald
Foreword by the Deputy Chief Constable, Lothian and Borders Police, on behalf of The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
Police officers throughout Scotland are aware that, for the majority of victims and witnesses, the prospect of giving evidence in any criminal proceeding is daunting. When the victim or witness is a child, young person or vulnerable adult the understandable fear and uncertainty can be heightened. The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) is therefore committed to working with the Scottish Executive and other partners to ensure that the most vulnerable members in all our communities receive appropriate support based on their individual needs which will assist them to give their best evidence.
The guidance on Information about Child, Young and Vulnerable Adult Witnesses to Inform Decision Making in the Legal Process is, in my opinion, the cornerstone of witness support. The main purpose of the guidance is to advise police officers as to the type of information that is extremely useful to procurators fiscal and children's reporters and how to record the captured information through the Standard Prosecution Report. This will identify, at an early stage, the needs and expectations of child, young and vulnerable adult witnesses and, through the timely transfer of information and consultation between partners involved, will support the provisions of 'special measures' contained within the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2004.
I hope that this step forward will make giving evidence to courts easier for young and vulnerable witnesses, and also ensure that the evidence captured by police officers from these witnesses is as robust as it can be.
MALCOLM DICKSON
Deputy Chief Constable Lothian and Borders Police
Foreword by the Principal Reporter
It is now recognised that for too long in legal proceedings the needs of young or otherwise vulnerable witnesses have been subordinate to the imperatives of the court process.
SCRA has welcomed the opportunity to contribute to guidance designed to ensure that from the crucial early stages the experience of witnesses and victims is given clearer focus and afforded greater respect.
This guidance seeks to clarify roles and responsibilities in the assessment of vulnerability and ensure that all involved proceed in a co-ordinated and collaborative manner so that delay, duplication and distress are kept to a minimum. It forms an important part of the Executive's wider project of ensuring that witnesses, and in particular those who are also victims, are not further traumatised by participation in court proceedings.
The aim of fashioning a system which is aligned around, and sensitive to, the needs of witnesses and victims is entirely consistent with the wider needs of justice and child welfare. Both are served by the delivery of the witness's best evidence. The Guidance provides a framework to assist the police to capture crucial information about the witness in a structured way so that details relevant to the management of the case are available to decision makers early in the process. Providing this information at an early stage will help ensure the centrality of the witness's role as the case proceeds.
SCRA is strongly committed to all developments designed to promote the rights and requirements of witnesses. Proper monitoring and evaluation of progress following this initiative is central to the success of the wider project. Strengthening the witness's ability to give best evidence strengthens the integrity of the whole system.
ALAN MILLER
Principal Reporter
Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
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