| NCJ Number: |
202790  |
| |
|
| Title: |
New Specialist Child Sexual Assault Jurisdiction for New South Wales |
| |
|
| Author(s): |
Rebekah Rodger |
| |
|
| Date Published: |
May 2003 |
| |
|
| Page Count: |
9 |
| |
|
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Australian Institute of Criminology
Canberra ACT, 2601, Australia |
| |
|
| Sale Source: |
Australian Institute of Criminology
GPO Box 2944
Canberra ACT, 2601,
Australia |
| |
|
| Document: |
PDF |
| |
|
| Type: |
Conference Material; Program/Project Description |
| |
|
| Format: |
Document (Online) |
| |
|
| Language: |
English |
| |
|
| Country: |
Australia |
| |
|
| Annotation: |
This paper discusses the rationale for and the implementation of
a pilot specialist court jurisdiction in New South Wales
(Australia) for child sexual assault cases.
|
| |
|
| Abstract: |
Two reports on the handling of child sexual assault cases in the
criminal justice system released in 2002 led to the New South Wales (NSW) Government's decision to implement the pilot. One report found the NSW criminal justice system to be deficient regarding length of time from reporting to trial, waiting conditions at court, the availability of closed circuit
television (CCTV) technology, lack of early recording of evidence
of child complainants, and the availability of committals in
child sexual assault prosecutions. The second report identified
two key problems with child sexual assault prosecutions in NSW:
the comparatively low conviction rate in trials and the
traumatizing effect of the trial process on complainants. In an
effort to remedy the identified deficiencies in the processing of
child sexual abuse cases, the Specialist Child Sexual Assault
Jurisdiction was created as a pilot scheme available only for district court and local court matters at Parramatta Courthouse in Western Sydney. The specialist jurisdiction has the following features: provision of a secure remote witness facility separate
from the courthouse that is child friendly; a presumption in
favor of using special measures, including the admission of
prerecorded evidence, the use of CCTV, and support persons;
improved CCTV technology and facilities; pretrial hearings to
determine the special needs of the child and the readiness of the
matter to proceed; improved training for judicial officers
specific to child sexual assault cases; and extensive evaluation
of the pilot. Problems identified from two cases processed by the
pilot are discussed.
|
| |
|
| Main Term(s): |
Juvenile victims |
| |
|
| Index Term(s): |
Child Sexual Abuse; Children in the courtroom; Closed circuit television (CCTV); Court of limited jurisdiction; Criminal Justice System Response to Victims; Foreign courts; New South Wales; Victim reactions to the Criminal Justice System; Witness Reactions to the Criminal Justice System |
| |
|
| Note: |
Paper presented at the Child Sexual Abuse: Justice Response or
Alternative Resolution Conference held in Adelaide, Australia,
May 1-2, 2003; downloaded November 6, 2003.
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=202790 |
| |
|
