Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Product Information

Prosecutors must ensure that they have sufficient evidence or information to satisfy a court that each of the three conditions has been met. Each application is likely to be fact specific, and applications for civilian witnesses and those for professional witnesses engaged in law enforcement are likely to differ.

The criminal justice system treats children and young people differently from adults and significant weight must be attached to the age of the suspect if they are a child or young person under 18. Age of criminality The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 creates an automatic prohibition on the publication of details that identify a victim of rape or other serious sexual offences, and there is a similar provision in respect of victims of female genital mutilation under schedule 1 to the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003. It is important that any conversation and agreement about the Special Measures that will be applied for between the police officer and the prosecutor is recorded by both parties. Timely relaying of the agreed Special Measures to the child witness by the police may help to reduce worry and stress by giving an explanation of the procedures involved. DisclosureThe CPR permit the court to vary this timetable, even after the expiry of the time limits.(Rule 22.8) Where possible, the trial judge should determine the application and any hearing should be attended by the parties’ trial advocates. Where the application is made by counsel, prosecutors must ensure that counsel has the appropriate experience and is fully conversant with this guidance. Where possible, agreement should be reached with the local authority or parties' solicitors as to the extent and timing of any disclosure. This should help to avoid a court hearing. If agreement cannot be reached, the applicant party should be informed in writing, with reasons, why no or only partial disclosure can take place. The letter is likely to be placed before the family court Judge and all reasons should be fully articulated. Non-Recent and Institutional Cases Non-Recent cases Rule 22.4 requires any applicant to give particulars of any evidence they want to introduce and any questions they want to ask. It is extremely important that the defence put in writing, either in the written application or at the hearing in private, what questions they propose to put to the complainant. It is only by insisting on this that the court will be able to maintain a degree of control over the questioning if it is permitted and will prevent the defence straying into areas that would be forbidden by Section 41 and outside the parameters established by the Judge’s ruling.

The Code (4.14(d)) is also concerned with the suspect’s age and maturity at the time of offence. The CJS treats children differently to adults and significance must be attached to the age of a suspect if they are also a child: Higher culpability factors involve: offence committed whilst on bail for other offences, offence motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation/disability/race/religion (or presumed membership), previous convictions, an intention to commit more harm than actually resulted from the offence, offenders operating in groups or gangs, deliberate targeting of vulnerable victims, use of a weapon to frighten or injure the victim, abuse of power or position of trust.

Changes over time for: Section 17

Prosecutors also need to consider if a prosecution is likely to have an adverse effect on the victim’s physical or mental health, always bearing in mind the seriousness of the offence, the availability of Special Measures and the possibility of a prosecution without the participation of the victim. Special measures were introduced through the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (YJCEA) 1999 and include a range of measures to support victims and witnesses (other than the accused) to give their best evidence and help reduce some of the anxiety of attending court. If prosecutors are involved in a case involving a number of victims, particularly of allegations of institutional abuse, they should make enquiries to the police about what led to the witnesses coming forward. In appropriate cases, the use of a Registered Intermediary should be considered to assist advocates to assess understanding. Further information about Registered Intermediaries can be found in the Special Measures Legal Guidance.