Child witnesses are being interviewed in conditions which risk traumatising them, using equipment that doesn’t work and by people without the right skills, it is claimed.
A report from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says evidence from the interviews can often not even be used in court because the police officers transcribing them lack typing skills and make errors.
The investigation carried out by an SCTS working group was requested by the Scottish Government, which wants more video-recorded interviews to prevent children going through the trauma of a court appearance. Justice secretary Michael Matheson has said he wants to eliminate the need for children to attend court at all, as witnesses or victims.
The new report supports this goal, but says there are significant barriers to achieving it, particularly the quality of the Joint Investigative Interviews (JIIs) currently carried out by police or social workers with some child witnesses.
At present these are only carried out with children who are being abused, neglected or at risk. Around 5000 a year take place in Scotland, but very few are used in court because the quality of interviews, transcripts, video, or audio are inadequate, or because of attitudes to the use of recorded evidence, the report says.
It concludes none of these barriers is insurmountable, but fixing them will be expensive, and extending the approach to all child witnesses could mean recording more than 50,000 interviews a year.
The SCTS calls on the Scottish Government to immediately fund better equipment to video record interviews, pointing out that there are only approximately 80 cameras and microphones are available across the country for JIIs, mostly obsolete, while microphones tested on adults “often fail to adequately pick up the child’s voice.”
When JIIs began to be videoed five years ago nothing was spent on improving the rooms where they take place, it adds. As a result, interviews regularly take place in unsuitable settings: “Harsh intimidating interview environments can contribute to trauma”, the report says. This means new, child friendly locations for interviews are needed. The report also says asking police officers to transcribe JIIs is misguided and a waste of police resources.
SCTS Chief Executive Eric McQueen said JIIs could capture complete, reliable and accurate evidence as soon as possible after an incident is reported. “If we get that initial process right, the chances are increased of a child or vulnerable witness not having to give their evidence again if there are legal proceedings, “ he added. “It also increases the chance of a trial process that is fair to all concerned, and minimises the risk of further trauma to any alleged victim or witness.”
A spokesman from NSPCC Scotland said: “Children have to be tremendously brave to be a witness against someone who has abused them – something that would be daunting even for an adult. We must make sure they have as much support as possible when giving evidence, an essential part of this is allowing them to do so where and when they are likely to feel comfortable and confident. Better evidence means justice is far more likely to be secured for victims.
“We have heard troubling stories about children encountering defendants and their supporters which in some cases frightens them so much they feel they can’t go through with giving evidence.
“It’s vital we improve the experiences of children and young people who become involved with the criminal justice system to reduce the risk of further trauma being suffered by young victims of abuse."
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