Gathering Evidence From Children: A Systematic Approach (From Children, Evidence and Procedure, P 10-14, 1993, Noel K Clark and Geoffrey M Stephenson, eds. -- See NCJ-150558)

• NCJ Number: 150560
• Author(s): H Roberts; D Glasgow
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: British Psychological Soc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This paper describes a model of evidence gathering in cases of alleged child sexual abuse that attempts to combine "child friendly" strategies with stringent hypothesis testing to allow children to give meaningful evidence in legal proceedings.

Abstract

The model, known as the Systematic Approach to Gathering Evidence (SAGE), has six aims: (1) make decisionmaking explicit and encourage investigators to consider particular actions and behaviors; (2) provide investigators with a structure and identify information they need to collect; (3) encourage communication about the child's world; (4) test the child's competence; (5) facilitate cooperation among professionals; and (6) investigate alleged child sexual abuse within a single-case methodology framework. Ways in which model aims can be met and model techniques are discussed. 4 references and 1 figure