RT Article
T1 ‘Could do better’: Report on the use of special measures in sexual offences cases
JF Criminology & criminal justice
VO 21
IS 1
SP 89
OP 106
A1 Majeed-Ariss, Rabiya
A2 Brockway, Alice
A2 Cook, Kate
A2 White, Catherine
LA English
YR 2021
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1750518252
AB This article reports on research into the use of ‘special measures’ in sexual offence cases. It begins by outlining the background: considering the perennial problem of attrition within the criminal justice system; explaining why special measures are considered important; and outlining the rules surrounding their use. The next step is to explain the research and then the discussion turns to the results so far. This study surveyed 61 sexual offence complainants on how they had decided to give evidence in court and what influenced this decision. This is the first time a team has evaluated special measures including the remote live link, from the point of view of the complainants. The complainants’ descriptions of their choices were analysed to identify key themes, which are presented here. The results highlight that there are some problems with the practical implementation of these measures, particularly given the views of the complainants.
K1 special measures
K1 Sexual offences
K1 live link evidence
K1 Complainant visibility
DO 10.1177/1748895819840396