Section 28 for vulnerable victims and witnesses in Crown Courts

Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 enables the recording of evidence and cross-examination prior to trial, subject to judicial discretion.

It applies to vulnerable complainants of a crime (commonly referred to as victims) and witnesses, regardless of offence, and includes:

all child witnesses

any witness whose quality of evidence is likely to be diminished because they:

are suffering from a mental disorder

*have a significant impairment of intelligence and social functioning

have a physical disability or are suffering from a physical disorder.

The provision of this service has been made possible with the support of the judiciary, legal professional associations, victim and witness support services.

How it works

Where the judge directs, s.28 allows vulnerable victims and witnesses to have their cross-examination video-recorded before the full trial, away from the court room. This evidence is then played during the live trial, which, in most cases, means the vulnerable person does not need to attend in person.

The s.28 recording is completed close to the time of offence through an expedited timetable, aiding memory recall and to reduce the distress experienced by some witnesses when giving evidence to a full courtroom at trial.

Both the defence and prosecution lawyers are present in court during the pre-recording, as well as the judge and the defendant.

Pre-recorded cross examination does not impact a defendant’s right to a fair trial.

Courts offering the s.28 service

Following a successful pilot in Kingston-upon-Thames, Leeds and Liverpool and subsequent rollout to additional sites, the scheme has been available for vulnerable witnesses in at least one court in every region since earlier this year.

The measure is now in place in 62 Crown Courts across England and Wales:

Amersham

Aylesbury

Basildon

Bolton

Bradford

Bristol

Burnley

Canterbury

Caernarfon

Cardiff

Carlisle

Central Criminal Court

Chelmsford

Chester

Croydon

Doncaster

Durham

Exeter

Gloucester

Guildford

Harrow

Inner London

Ipswich

Isleworth

King’s Lynn

Kingston-upon-Thames

Lancaster

Leeds

Leicester

Lewes

Liverpool

Maidstone

Manchester Crown Square

Manchester Minshull Street

Merthyr Tydfil

Mold

Newcastle

Newport (Wales)

Northampton

Norwich

Oxford

Portsmouth

Plymouth

Preston

Reading

Salisbury

Sheffield

Snaresbrook

Southampton

Southwark

St Albans

Stafford

Swansea

Swindon

Teesside

Warrington

Winchester

Wolverhampton

Wood Green

Woolwich

Worcester

York