Grounded in the latest clinical and developmental knowledge, this book brings together leading authorities to examine the critical issues that arise when children and adolescents become involved in the justice system. Chapters explore young people’s capacities, competencies, and special vulnerabilities as victims, witnesses, and defendants. Key topics include the reliability of children’s abuse disclosures, eyewitness testimony, interviews, and confessions; the evolving role of the expert witness; the psychological impact of trauma and of legal involvement; factors that shape jurors’ perceptions of children; and what works in rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Policies and practices that are not supported by science are identified, and approaches to improving them are discussed.

Children and Crime offers a multidisciplinary and research-based approach to the study of child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency. Connie M. Tang first examines children as victims of maltreatment, exploring how developmental trauma and societal factors influence children’s behavior and psyche. Topics covered include child neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological abuse. Later chapters address how children come into conflict with the law and discuss gang membership and substance abuse. Engaging, real-life case studies illustrate the intersectionality of race, gender, and crime, as well as the role of Child Protective Services and juvenile courts. In particular, Tang examines how abuse and neglect can later play a role in a child’s delinquency. Children and Crime provides an innovative and accessible text for psychology, social work, and criminal justice courses in child abuse, neglect, and delinquency.

With its unique human-rights perspective on the study of childhood victimization and an innovative, child-inclusive restorative justice model, this book promises to be a touchstone for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers concerned with children's well-being in the aftermath of crime and violence.

Psychological research can provide constructive explanations of key problems in the criminal justice system--and can help generate solutions. This state-of-the-art text dissects the psychological processes associated with fundamental legal questions: Is a suspect lying? Will an incarcerated individual be dangerous in the future? Is an eyewitness accurate? How can false memories be implanted? How do juries, experts, forensic examiners, and judges make decisions, and how can racial and other forms of bias be minimized? Chapters offer up-to-date reviews of relevant theory, experimental methods, and empirical findings. Specific recommendations are made for improving the quality of evidence and preserving the integrity of investigative and legal proceedings.

This publication sets out practical guidance on the use of fifteen indicators of core importance to juvenile justice, developed by UNICEF and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in consultation with non-governmental organisations and individual experts. The indicators have been refined through field-testing in a number of countries and are endorsed by the Interagency Juvenile Justice Panel. The indicators fall into two categorie of quantitative and policy matters, with five core indicators relating to: the number of children in detention; the number of children in pre-sentence detention; the percentage of children sentenced to a custodial sentence; the percentage of children diverted or sentenced who enter a pre-sentence diversion scheme; and the existence of a specialised juvenile justice system.

Represents a scholarly and ambitious attempt to improve the quality of interviews received by the courts and minimize the risks of miscarriages of justice, for victims and defendants This book updates the previous review of research on children’s testimony—reexamining and readdressing how the quality of information provided by young witnesses is affected by the way they are questioned. Drawing upon both experimental and field studies conducted in different countries, it summarizes evidence supporting the effectiveness of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Protocol and showcases the Protocol’s superiority over other current interviewing techniques for eliciting detailed and forensically useful content from child complainants. Written with both child protection professionals and researchers in mind, Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse offers advice and opinions drawn from actual investigative interviews as well as academic research. Its insightful chapters cover: children’s testimony; interview and questioning strategies; how investigators typically interview alleged victims; the NICHD Investigative Interview Protocols; the impact that following the Protocol has on interviews and children’s responses; interviewing victims under the age of six; interviewing children with developmental disabilities; using tools and props to complement the Protocol; training and maintaining good interviewing practices; and more. Provides a primary source of guidance practitioners and professionals involved in child protection Updates guidance for interviewers by adding consideration of emotional and motivational factors to better understand children’s behavior during interviews Integrates the substantial body of research published over the last decade and reflects upon questions that the field should continue to address Tell Me What Happened: Questioning Children About Abuse deserves to be read by all practitioners involved in child protection, whether as investigators, interviewers, judges, or lawyers.

St. Mary County is a small rural midwestern enclave with a unique approach to handling accusations of child sexual abuse. Hoping to spare children the trauma of lengthy court appearances and probing interrogations, St. Mary's professionals strive to obtain confessions from accused sex offenders rather than ask the victim to bear the burden of proof. Treating this county as a critical case study, scholars from a variety of fields come together to analyze this community's unique approach. They address relevant case law, innovative treatments for both victim and offender, and the social history of child sexual abuse as a national policy concern. They cover legal burdens and scientific methods, prosecutors and protocol, the interrogation of victims and suspects, the use of expert witnesses, defense strategies, and practice wisdom in videotaping. In addition, they examine the unfolding drama of a single legal case from incidence to conviction. The result is a fascinating dialogue that confronts the unique complexities of child sexual abuse for readers on all sides of the issue. Introducing a model that makes enormous headway in the pursuit of justice, fairness, and trauma treatment, this interdisciplinary text is an indispensible tool for all communities seeking redress.

The Attorney General of the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime strive to pursue justice for criminal acts and that pursuit includes justice for the victims of and witnesses to crime. The 2011 Edition of the Attorney General Guidelines for Victim and Witness Assistance reflects current statutory provisions, recognizes the technological and legal changes that have taken place since the previous Guidelines were promulgated, and incorporates best practices that will benefit victims and enhance investigations and prosecutions.

Reviews new research on the consequences of child sexual abuse, the capabilities of children as witnesses, and the impact of the court process on child victims. Also analyzes pertinent statutes and case law. 16 charts and tables.

Investigation of child abuse is often hampered by doubts about the reliability of children as only sources of information. Over the last decade, consensus has been reached about children's limitations and competencies. New for the Wiley Series in the Psychology of Crime, Policing and Law, Tell Me What Happened summarizes key research on children's memory, communicative skills and social tendencies, describes how it can be incorporated into a specific structured interview technique and reviews evidence involving more than 40,000 alleged victims.