“They just don’t understand what’s happened or why”: A report on child defendants and video links
We have published a report which suggests the rights of child defendants to a fair trial are being compromised by the government’s drive to use video links in court hearings.
It is believed to be cheaper to have an under-18-year-old defendant take part in a court hearing from prison than it is to transport them to court. The child may say they prefer it to travelling for hours in a prison van too. But the reality is that children accused of crimes already struggle to understand what is happening in court when they are there in person, not least because so many have communication difficulties. Video link makes this problem worse. Not only are they much less likely to understand, they can neither consult their lawyer properly nor communicate with the judge in the court. The research also indicates that children who appear via video are much less likely to appreciate the seriousness of the situation or present themselves well, prejudicing their outcomes at court.
We have gathered evidence that video links are being used extensively with child defendants. Recently a 17-year-old boy received a ten year sentence while on video link, while video links are commonly used for remand hearings. We calls for a halt to government plans for children to be involved in totally virtual hearings (with no one in the court room) and to the use of video links in general (save for the most exceptional circumstances) until their effects are better understood.
A range of organisations including Liberty, The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, The Criminal Bar Association, both YOT Managers’ Associations and a range of leading academics share our concerns about the effect on access to justice of video links for child defendants and have signed an open letter.
Full Report: “They just don’t understand what’s happened or why”: A report on child defendants and video links *
Open Letter: Open letter concerning the effects of video links for child defendants *
*Please note, these materials were published under our previous name of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice (SCYJ)