In many courts, traditionally victims and witnesses are asked to
wait in sparse, unfriendly surroundings. So HM Courts &
Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has invested
£80,000 in victim and witness waiting rooms in five courts across
the country – making a number of changes including the addition
of children’s toys.
Research conducted with court users has shown that small changes
such as these can make the court experience less intimidating for
some of the 156,000 victims and witnesses who give evidence each
year - particularly children and the vulnerable.
The model victim and witness waiting rooms have been established
at Nottingham Justice Centre, Manchester Magistrates’ Court,
Newcastle Crown Court and Aldershot Justice Centre, with work
ongoing at Liverpool Crown Court. They will provide a template
for courts nationwide.
HMCTS worked
closely with stakeholders including the Victim’s Commissioner,
the Witness Service and court users to identify areas across the
estate to develop and analyse the best way to support victims and
witnesses through the court process. This work informed how the
rooms were developed, and they will now be used as models for
further estate changes.
Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, :
I welcome HMCTS’ initiative to
enhance the victim and witness room facilities across the court
estate. I am looking forward to seeing the pilot rooms and very
much hope that they will set the standard for victims’
facilities in all court rooms across the country. The court
process can be a traumatic experience for victims and any
attempt to make this environment less impersonal and more
comfortable is most definitely a positive step.
I am looking forward to seeing how the remodelled rooms can
provide a change for victims and hope they will assist victims
and witnesses to have a better experience of the court process.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:
Giving evidence in court can be a difficult and stressful
experience so it is crucial that witnesses are supported to
perform their invaluable role.
It’s our role as the Witness Service to provide information and
support to help people feel as comfortable and confident as
possible when giving evidence. We know all too well that even
small changes to make waiting areas more comfortable can make
big differences to a witness’s experience - providing a
welcoming space for child witnesses is particularly important.
This is on top of a range of measures the Government has put in
place to help reduce the anxiety of attending court, including
giving evidence behind a screen and the use of a registered
intermediary. In criminal courts the government is driving the
increased use of video links - meaning more vulnerable victims
can give evidence away from the court room and without having to
meet their attacker face to face.
HMCTS is also
assessing criminal courts to ensure they are properly equipped
for victims and witnesses, and monitoring individuals’
experiences of the court system. This will provide a yardstick
for key improvements across the estate. A range of work will be
carried out in the coming months to improve the information
available to victims and witnesses before coming to court –
making the often painful process clearer and easier to
understand.
The £1bn investment will ensure that HMCTS are
providing targeted care to those who need it – by reducing
unnecessary stress for victims and the most vulnerable, and
lessening the emotional turmoil experienced through crime. That
£1bn is made up of £855 million to modernise and digitise the
courts, and £240 million to deliver a fully connected criminal
courtroom.
More modern and robust technology will be put in place in courts,
such as Wi-Fi, modern telephony and screens for sharing evidence.
This transformation of the estate will create a user-focused and
modern justice system which supports the most vulnerable.
