HELEN L WESTCOTT
Biographic Data
| ID | 7442305 |
|---|---|
| NAME | HELEN L WESTCOTT |
| GIVEN NAMES | HELEN L |
| FAMILY NAME | WESTCOTT |
| SIGNATURE | WESTCOTT H L |
| AFFILIATIONS | NSPCC's Public Policy Department |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Children, hearsay, and the courts
Legal and procedural reforms to accomodate children's testimony have continued apace in the United Kingdom since the Criminal Justice Act of 1988. This act introduced live links or closed-circui t television) for child witnesses appearing at Crown Courts and amended the corroboration requirement; the Criminal Justice Act of 1991 permitted videotaped evidence-in-chief, such that investigative interviews carried out by police officers and social wo…
Children, hearsay, and the courts
Practising ethical and sensitive child protection research
This paper draws on four recent studies of child protection issues to raise dilemmas in research practice. The following areas are highlighted as problematic: identifying possible research participants; negotiating gatekeepers; ‘hanging on’ to research participants; consent and assent; confidentiality; researcher sensitivity; empowering participants and dissemination of research findings. Illustrations are given from the four studies as to how th…
System abuse
The present article explores the concept of system abuse from the perspectives of children and parents. Four main ways in which the term has been used are highlighted and, with reference to the literature, the commonalities underlying the various uses of the term are explored. Reviewing the available evidence suggests that many families may become unnecessarily involved in the child protection system; this finding is discussed within the paramete…
Children's Welfare in the Courtroom
This paper summarises recent attempts to safeguard children's welfare in the courtroom. Drawing on international research and practice developments, the paper compares programmes that prepare children for their role as witnesses with reforms designed to protect children once they testify. Benefits and disadvantages associated with both approaches are highlighted, and the paper concludes that all professionals have a responsibility to promote chil…
The 1991 Criminal Justice Act
The 1991 Criminal Justice Act introduced new legislation governing the way children may testify in courts in England and Wales. Helen Westcott reviews these legislative reforms in the light of recent research on child witnesses, and highlights some of the difficulties which will still remain for children called to testify
Children's credibility on camera
An experiment was conducted to examine whether the use of different camera shots‐medium or close‐up‐affected the way in which child witnesses were perceived by adult raters. School children were video‐recorded describing an event in which they had participated, and students rated the children s perceived credibility on a number of scales. Type of shot used did not influence perceived credibility in a consistent manner, although it did influence s…
Adults' perceptions of children's videotaped truthful and deceptive statements
This article uses a research study on decisions about children's truth telling to discuss the difficult issues involved in using video‐taped evidence in child abuse cases. The adult raters had to decide whether each child recounting a school trip was telling the truth or had only seen a video recording of the day's events. Raters were just above chance in detecting truth and deception, were better able to detect truth tellers than deceivers, and …
System abuse
The present article explores the concept of system abuse from the perspectives of children and parents. Four main ways in which the term has been used are highlighted and, with reference to the literature, the commonalities underlying the various uses of the term are explored. Reviewing the available evidence suggests that many families may become unnecessarily involved in the child protection system; this finding is discussed within the paramete…
Children's credibility on camera
An experiment was conducted to examine whether the use of different camera shots‐medium or close‐up‐affected the way in which child witnesses were perceived by adult raters. School children were video‐recorded describing an event in which they had participated, and students rated the children s perceived credibility on a number of scales. Type of shot used did not influence perceived credibility in a consistent manner, although it did influence s…
Adults' perceptions of children's videotaped truthful and deceptive statements
This article uses a research study on decisions about children's truth telling to discuss the difficult issues involved in using video‐taped evidence in child abuse cases. The adult raters had to decide whether each child recounting a school trip was telling the truth or had only seen a video recording of the day's events. Raters were just above chance in detecting truth and deception, were better able to detect truth tellers than deceivers, and …
The 1991 Criminal Justice Act
The 1991 Criminal Justice Act introduced new legislation governing the way children may testify in courts in England and Wales. Helen Westcott reviews these legislative reforms in the light of recent research on child witnesses, and highlights some of the difficulties which will still remain for children called to testify
Children's Welfare in the Courtroom
This paper summarises recent attempts to safeguard children's welfare in the courtroom. Drawing on international research and practice developments, the paper compares programmes that prepare children for their role as witnesses with reforms designed to protect children once they testify. Benefits and disadvantages associated with both approaches are highlighted, and the paper concludes that all professionals have a responsibility to promote chil…
Practising ethical and sensitive child protection research
This paper draws on four recent studies of child protection issues to raise dilemmas in research practice. The following areas are highlighted as problematic: identifying possible research participants; negotiating gatekeepers; ‘hanging on’ to research participants; consent and assent; confidentiality; researcher sensitivity; empowering participants and dissemination of research findings. Illustrations are given from the four studies as to how th…
System abuse
The present article explores the concept of system abuse from the perspectives of children and parents. Four main ways in which the term has been used are highlighted and, with reference to the literature, the commonalities underlying the various uses of the term are explored. Reviewing the available evidence suggests that many families may become unnecessarily involved in the child protection system; this finding is discussed within the paramete…
Children, hearsay, and the courts
Legal and procedural reforms to accomodate children's testimony have continued apace in the United Kingdom since the Criminal Justice Act of 1988. This act introduced live links or closed-circui t television) for child witnesses appearing at Crown Courts and amended the corroboration requirement; the Criminal Justice Act of 1991 permitted videotaped evidence-in-chief, such that investigative interviews carried out by police officers and social wo…
Children, hearsay, and the courts
Law (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (3 works) · Child protection (3 works) · Criminology (3 works) · Deception detection and forensic psychology (3 works) · Jury Decision Making Processes (3 works) · Computer Science (2 works)