ABSTRACT
The introduction of the Memorandum of Good Practice on Video Recorded Interviews with Child Witnesses for Criminal Proceedings (Home Office, 1992) formed part of a general review of the rules governing the reception of evidence by children at court. In the opinion of many police officers and social workers that review is far from complete (Davies and Wilson, 1994; Social Services Inspectorate, 1994). The motive for change was the belated realisation, on the one hand, of the scale of physical and sexual abuse in our society and, on the other hand, that children can be reliable witnesses, given appropriate questioning and legal procedures that take account of their age and vulnerability (Goodman, 1984; Goodman and Helgeson, 1985). This change in attitude has been reflected in alterations to the law that have done away with the formal obstacles to the hearing of children's evidence such as the competency test, the corroboration requirement and the special caution from the judge to the jury in cases involving children's evidence (Spencer and Flin, 1993). The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 spells out the view explicitly that courts should normally be prepared to listen to the evidence of children and juries should decide what weight to attach to it.
