Interviews, intermediaries and interventions: Mock-jurors’, police officers’ and barristers’ perceptions of a child witness interview.

This paper evaluated the effect of the presence or absence of a registered intermediary on perceptions of a transcript of a fictitious child witness interview. Intermediaries have been introduced in England and Wales to advise professionals involved in investigations on how to conduct interviews to enable child victims and witnesses to give their best evidence. To date, no studies have explored the impact of intermediaries among key groups in the criminal justice system. Twenty each of mock jurors, police officers and barristers took part. Half the participants viewed a transcript with no intermediary present and half viewed a version adapted to include the presence of an intermediary who intervened five times. Participants completed questionnaires about the quality of the interview and the credibility of the child. The presence of an intermediary improved perceptions of the interview, with no effect on perceptions of the child. There were differences between participant groups and significant interactions on various measures. These findings have important implications for the intermediary scheme and justice for child victims.