NCJ Number
128431
Journal
Police Journal Volume: 64 Issue: 1 Dated: (January/March 1991) Pages: 9-21
Date Published
1991
Length
13 pages
Annotation
A survey was conducted of all 43 police forces in England and Wales to determine what sort of video recording equipment is available in cases of sexual abuse.
Abstract
The actual sample of completed questionnaires was low, however, a small but fairly representative sample covering some of the largest forces in the country was available. The forces that did complete the questionnaires demonstrated that they had developed programs and expertise for dealing with sexual abuse. All eight forces have special purpose-built interview rooms or suites either on force premises or at other locations and enterprising initiatives have been introduced such as the conversion of unused police houses. In the majority of cases video recordings had not been admitted as evidence in court, only two forces responded with a positive result. The issue of confidentiality and integrity of tapes was raised as the number of copies made of the original recording varied from none to two. All forces had experienced equipment malfunction due to either human error or mechanical breakdown, and one force reported that the equipment had failed to record on three occasions. 4 tables and 11 notes