Children and other vulnerable crime victims are to be allowed to record their evidence to spare them from a stressful court appearance.
The Ministry of Justice is bringing in the new measure by implementing Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act.
A pilot scheme is to be tried out in in Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston-upon-Thames before being introduced nationwide if it proves successful, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said on Tuesday.
The change aims to end the courtroom trauma faced by witnesses like Frances Andrade, who killed herself after being cross-examined at Manchester Crown Court.
The 48 year-old violin teacher took her life shortly after giving evidence in the trial of choirmaster Michael Brewer, who was convicted in February of child sex offences against Andrade when she was a teenager.
“The particularly hostile treatment of victims and witnesses in court has nothing to do with fairness or justice,” Grayling said.
“It is simply not right that young and vulnerable victims are forced to relive the most traumatic experience they have ever had, often for days on end, when cross-examined in court.”
He added: “For the first time we are going to spare these victims from the aggressive and intimidating court atmosphere by making sure they can give evidence and be cross-examined before the trial starts.”
Children currently receive special measures such as giving evidence from behind a screen or giving it via video link, and these options can be made available to other victims and witnesses.
Grayling’s decision comes after the head of a leading charity warned it is only a matter of time before a child witness commits suicide if nothing is done to address the adversarial culture in courtrooms.
The chief executive of charity Victim Support, Javed Khan, welcomed the announcement but said more needed to be done.
“Repeated, aggressive, cross-examination of vulnerable witnesses cannot be the best way to obtain sound, accurate evidence – which is ultimately so vital in bringing offenders to justice,” he said.
“We welcome measures like pre-recorded interviewing in safe spaces. In addition, we firmly believe that vulnerable and intimidated witnesses must be offered specialist help and support throughout the justice process.”
NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless added: “This pilot is one step towards making courts child friendly and starting to remove the gladiatorial element of cross-examination.”
Crime victims to be able to record trial evidence
