Abstract
This article presents and discusses new empirical data derived from CPS Monitoring of the implementation of special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (VIWs) pursuant to Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. VIW Monitoring was a major undertaking, covering all CPS prosecutions in England and Wales for an entire calendar year. Its results are fully reported elsewhere. Here, we concentrate on one segment of VIW Monitoring data, reporting the outcomes of prosecutors' applications for special measures. Most such applications succeed, but a small minority is rejected, and the characteristics and reasons for these judicial refusals were recorded as part of the Monitoring process. By examining and reflecting upon the circumstances of abortive applications, no less than in contemplating the broader pattern of success which emerges from VIW Monitoring, we may hope to gain a better appreciation of the existing arrangements for securing special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, and to assess the scope, if any, for further refinements of policy or practice.
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