Child Witnesses' Access to Alternative Modes of Testifying in New Zealand

In 1990, New Zealand became the first common law country to introduce a comprehensive legislative package of reforms for child witnesses, including provision for children to testify via alternative modes, namely, admitting video-recorded forensic interviews as the child's evidence-in-chief and testifying at trial via closed-circuit television (CCTV) or screened from the accused. Since the 1990s, there has been no empirical research examining child witnesses' access to these modes in New Zealand courts. The purpose of this article is to fill that gap by examining children's access to alternative modes of giving evidence and determining how many applications are contested by the defence. Attention then turns to the issues surrounding the impact of alternative modes on perceptions of children's testimony, before considering whether New Zealand might introduce a statutory presumption in favour of CCTV and pre-recorded testimony in the interests of enhancing children's ability to provide best evidence and improving efficiency in trial processes.     

Stress and the forensic psychiatrist: a pilot study

What are the sources of perceived occupational stress, and how troublesome are they to forensic psychiatrists? To examine these questions 1,800 90-item questionnaires were sent to the membership of AAPL. The questions explored what experiences forensic psychiatrists found most stressful and the degree of stress experienced. Three hundred seventy-two questionnaires were returned. On average, individuals rated the stress in their overall forensic practices as relatively low. Certain situations, however, were found to be highly stressful. Five of the most stressful aspects of forensic practice in this sample were: (1) fear of not being able to defend an opinion during cross-examination (63%); (2) fear of the prospect of disclosure of one's own content-related personal history (53%); (3) working with short deadlines (49%); (4) testifying while physically ill (43%); (5) stress from a retaining attorney's attempts to coerce an opinion (43%). An awareness of these matters may give guidance to people who are considering becoming forensic psychiatrists and may facilitate the management of stress.     

The role of real-time computerized neuropsychological examination in forensic psychiatry practice

Neuropsychological examination (NPE) is an important tool for evaluation of cognitive functioning in clinical and forensic situations. In forensic practice, NPE usually focuses on competency to stand trial, the mental state at the time of the offense, risk for future violence and malingering/aggravation issues. Real-time computerized NPE shows more accurate results than traditional pen-and-paper tests and provides quantitative data in a relatively standard format. It permits detection of any manipulation by the examinee in "real time." Therefore, it makes it possible not only to analyze the final results, but also to monitor closely the sequence of single acts of the assessment procedure. Thus, the computerized NPE attenuates possible examinee-related manipulations, which may distort the test results. The real-time NPE report of these elementary behavioral parameters can be used in the courts as acceptable evidence under cross-examination. This method leaves less room for bias; however, a cautious interpretation is always essential since the computerized data do not transform subjective methods into objective ones. Establishing a standard testing procedure and further utilization of real-time computerized tools could improve significantly the quality of NPE in forensic psychiatric practice.     

‘They're Not Really Doing “Normal” Psychiatry’: The Socio-Legal Shaping of Psychiatric Expertise in Insanity Trials

The use of psychiatric expertise in criminal trials has generally been construed as problematic despite the fact that there remains little in-depth research in this area. Qualitative research on other forensic experts has indicated the existing literature on psychiatric expert testimony may be simplifying the dynamics that occur in practice between psychiatry and law. This article draws on data generated from 31 qualitative interviews and medico-legal documentation to explore the socio-legal shaping of forensic psychiatrist's expertise during insanity trials in New Zealand. It describes how the hybrid features of the insanity defence shape forensic psychiatrists' practices in this context to the point that their performances as expert witnesses cannot be adequately described as doing ‘normal psychiatry’. Rather, adding to the existing body of social studies of forensic expertise, the article exemplifies how the forensic psychiatrists' practices are inextricably linked to the legal context in which they are operating. It concludes by demonstrating that the ‘art’ of forensic psychiatry involves managing the hybrid nature of the expertise they provide in cases of insanity.     

Diversion versus liaison: psychiatric services to the courts,Wellington, New Zealand

A Court Liaison Service was established, in December 1992, to provide psychiatric advice to the Wellington region's District and High Courts. The service was attached to the regional Forensic Psychiatric Service of the Wellington Area Health Board serving a catchment area of about 850 000. The authors describe the first year of operation of the service and then discuss some of the important issues in providing such a service, with particular reference to the concept of diversion of mentally ill offenders. The concept of liaison between the courts and regional forensic psychiatric services is discussed and the proposition put forward that perhaps the current court liaison services in New Zealand combine the best aspects of ‘diversion’ and ‘liaison’ schemes. Copyright © 1996 Whurr Publishers Ltd.     

Court diversion in perspective

Court diversion schemes have been running for a decade in New Zealand and are increasing in number in Australia. This paper aims to give an international and historical context to these developments, by reference to psychiatric initiatives at courts in the US and in England and Wales. From a review of the specialist literature, an account is given of three forms of psychiatric intervention in courts over the last 90 years: court psychiatric clinics and mental health courts in the US, and court diversion schemes in England and Wales. High levels of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners, coupled with a continuing increase in prisoner numbers, demonstrate the need for systems for dealing with mentally ill people who come before the courts. Court diversion in England and Wales developed as part of a system where the mentally ill who are found guilty are sent to hospital in lieu of any other sentence. Its focus is on a form of psychiatric triage, and its ethos is the health of the patient. Court psychiatric clinics in the US grew up as an alternative to assessment in prison. Their focus has been on full psychiatric evaluation in an insanity and incompetence jurisdiction. The ethos has been that of serving the court. Mental health courts are heavily influenced by ideas of therapeutic jurisprudence, and their emphasis has been on a judge holding minor offenders in community care through the threat of judicial sanction. Experience in England and Wales has shown that court diversion can be a powerful and effective intervention. In order for it to function properly, those running court schemes need direct admission rights to psychiatric beds, both open and locked. Court diversion schemes are best as part of a spectrum of services to police stations, courts and prisons, which involved both general and forensic psychiatrists.     

A computer-supported information system for forensic services

Recently many state departments of mental health have decentralized their forensic services programs. This trend has increased administrative needs for accurate, easily accessible information on the forensic services' caseload. The Missouri Department of Mental Health and the Missouri Institute of Psychiatry have developed and implemented a computer-supported system that provides data on the number of cases referred by criminal courts, the questions asked by the courts, the clinical answers to those questions, and demographic information about the evaluated population. The system is a part of the department's other computer systems so that forensic clients may be tracked through various mental health facilities. Mental health administrators may use the system to monitor department policies, ensure appropriate allocation of resources, and improve the quality of forensic reports.     

Counterintuitive Expert Psychological Evidence in Child Sexual Abuse Trials in New Zealand

The Evidence Act 2006 came into law in New Zealand in 2007. Among the many reforms was an amendment to the law pertaining to expert opinion evidence. In keeping with other jurisdictions, New Zealand adopted the “substantial helpfulness” test in relation to the admissibility of expert evidence. Since 2008, the courts have regularly admitted what has been termed “counterintuitive” expert psychological evidence in child sexual abuse trials, and appellate courts have upheld the use of this evidence. Such evidence has the purpose of educating juries, with particular reference to commonly held misconceptions about child sexual abuse. We discuss what is meant by the term counterintuitive evidence, why such evidence has been deemed helpful and the types of counterintuitive evidence currently given by psychologist expert witnesses in the New Zealand courts.     

A review of Approaches to Forensic Risk Assessment in Australia and New Zealand

Although there has been extensive research on risk assessment in mental health over the past decade, its practice internationally has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to describe the current status of risk assessment in forensic psychiatry facilities in Australia and New Zealand. Forty-one health professionals from five forensic psychiatry units in these countries completed a questionnaire on risk assessment and risk management in mentally disordered offenders. Little consistency was found in the approaches used and the research base on which the approaches were employed was in some cases of questionable validity. These findings have implications for the development of more consistent approaches to risk assessment in forensic populations.     

Court Education for Young Witnesses: Evaluation of the Pilot Service in Aotearoa,New Zealand

This article outlines the context and history of the development of the Court Education for Young Witnesses service for children who give evidence in the criminal court in New Zealand. A pilot programme in three courts was funded and implemented by the New Zealand Department for Courts in 2000 along with a two-year evaluation contracted by the then Department of Courts to the authors at the Institute of Public Policy at Auckland University of Technology. This article mostly focuses on the results of the evaluation, which informed revision of the training and materials for national implementation in 2004. Overall, the evaluation of the Court Education for Young Witnesses Pilot was positive. All stakeholders interviewed, including children, defence and prosecution lawyers, were positive about the initiative. Recommendations for improving the programme included reviewing the role of the victim advisers regarding education for defence witnesses; extending the training provided; improving quality assurance mechanisms; and clarifying who should be responsible for debriefing child witnesses. Some of these recommendations have been acted on, in particular regarding the training given to victim advisers.     

The Cogency of Risk Assessments

Preventive detention schemes rely on assessments of risk carried out by forensic practitioners. Corrective services departments and other organs of the state inevitably present the approaches they adopt and the tools they employ in this endeavour as being “best practice” and “evidence based”. Typically these assessments are conducted according to a bureaucratic template and are based on a selected suite of tests that are heavily biased towards actuarial assessment. The validity of this approach is gravely suspect as is the failure of many forensic professionals to properly identify the diagnostic accuracy/inaccuracy of the tests and methods they rely upon in conducting risk assessments. This article iterates the methodological and evidentiary problems with risk assessment of sexual offenders. It is concluded that common extant approaches lack scientific objectivity and fail to provide the courts with cogent evidence. As a result of these errors in investigatory processes miscarriages of justice are inevitable.     

Community forensic psychiatry: restoring some sanity to forensic psychiatric rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE: To review clinical and legal paradigms of community forensic mental health care, with specific focus on New Zealand, and to develop a clinically based set of guiding principles for service development in this area. METHOD: The general principles of rehabilitating mentally disordered offenders, and assertive community care programmes were reviewed and applied to the law and policy in a New Zealand forensic mental health setting. RESULTS: There is a need to develop comprehensive community treatment programmes for mentally disordered offenders. The limited available research supports assertive community treatment models, with specialist forensic input. Ten clinically based principles of care provision important to forensic mental health assertive community treatment were developed. CONCLUSION: Deinstitutionalization in forensic psychiatry lags behind the rest of psychiatry, but can only occur with well-supported systems in place to assess and manage risk in the community setting. The development of community-based forensic rehabilitation services in conjunction with general mental health is indicated.     

A consideration of legal issues in child custody contests. Implications for change.

The author reviews the criteria by which courts award custody of children and determine visitation rights. In the case described there have been repeated attempts by the noncustodial father to obtain visitation and to modify custody arrangements. A review of literature pertaining to the effects of divorce on children reveals an absence of the type of empirical studies that would be most effective in influencing the courts. The practices outlined in the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, model legislation recently approved by the american Bar Association, are discussed in relation to the case, and are not found to improve appreciably on current practice. The author suggests that the condition of children in the courts can be considerably improved by the involvement of child psychiatrists in consultation, education, and empirical research.     

International work in forensic psychiatry

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To review literature published worldwide during the past year on forensic psychiatry. RECENT FINDINGS: In Singapore, more homicides are committed by foreigners than nationals. In Israel, immigrants are less often involuntarily committed. In Australia, a community treatment order results in more rehospitalizations after the first admission and fewer rehospitalizations after subsequent admissions. In New Zealand, assertive community treatment with cultural engagement results in good outcome even for those offenders with a diagnosis of antisocial behavior. SUMMARY: New findings are leading to public policy decisions and improved treatment methods.     

Overview of child forensic psychiatry

The subspecialty of child forensic psychiatry has come into existence relatively recently. The first text on the subject was not published until 1980. This field emerged slowly as a recognized subspecialty separate from general child psychiatry and adult forensic psychiatry because child forensic psychiatry could not exist until children gained legal rights, and courts needed to know the impact of a child's mental state on those rights.     

The Christchurch prisons psychiatric epidemiology study: methodology and prevalence rates for psychiatric disorders

An investigation into psychiatric morbidity in the prisons in Christchurch, New Zealand is described. There are no previously published epidemiology studies concerning New Zealand prison inmates. A total of 225 inmates were approached to take part in the study representing a census of female inmates and remanded males and a randomly selected cohort of 125 sentenced males. Interviewers administered the Composite International Diagnostic Instrument – Automated (CIDI-A), a structured interview that generated both DSM-III-R and ICD 10 diagnoses. Interviews were completed on 183 inmates. Results reveal high lifetime and current prevalence rates for drug and alcohol abuse and dependence as well as high current and lifetime prevalence rates for affective disorders. Schizophrenia had a lifetime prevalence rate of 5% in the sentenced male population. Comparison with community epidemiological figures for psychiatric disorder reveal elevated lifetime and current prevalence rates among prison inmates for all major psychiatric diagnoses except generalized anxiety disorder. Implications for future treatment and service planning in forensic psychiatry are discussed with particular reference to a national epidemiology study of major psychiatric disorder in New Zealand prisons. Copyright © 1999 Whurr Publishers Ltd.     

Insanity acquittee outcomes in New Zealand

OBJECTIVE: This paper examines clinical and forensic outcomes for defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity in New Zealand, and explores the implications for policy development and clinical rehabilitation in this population. METHOD: All insanity acquittees disposed of by the courts as special patients after 1976 and released before 2004 are described. Their duration of inpatient care, rates of reconviction and rehospitalization following release are examined. The high resolution rate for violent crime reported to police suggests that reconviction rates are a reasonable proxy for violent reoffending. Factors predicting duration of inpatient care and reoffending are analysed. RESULTS: Severity of Index Offence was the only variable predicting duration of inpatient care of the 135 special patients. Offenders of more serious offences were securely detained for longer periods--averaging 6 years in the case of those charged with murder. Most patients were readmitted over the decade following discharge. Only 6% had violently reoffended 2 years after release into the community. Prior offending, age at release, ethnicity and gender predicted reoffending, but not diagnosis or duration of inpatient admission. CONCLUSIONS: Following discharge into the community, insanity acquittees are reconvicted of violent crimes at a very low rate, although readmission to hospital is common. It may be that insanity acquittees are initially detained in hospital longer than is clinically indicated, and that safe forensic community treatment can occur at an earlier stage of recovery without compromising public safety.     

Position and role of forensic psychiatry in integrative psychiatry

The integrative approach to psychiatry has gained more importance in recent years. Is it justified or not, does it improve theory or practice, those are only some of the questions to which we are looking for answers, but in this paper we shall underline the necessity of enrolling forensic psychiatry into integrative, modern psychiatry. The reason and the motive for that integration is the fact that nowadays the content and the activities of contemporary forensic psychiatrists are totally reduced to executing the tasks given by courts. It is therefore entirely right to say that current forensic psychiatry finds itself in the passive role of executing orders of the court. Our aim is to point out how important it is that forensic psychiatry becomes an interdisciplinary profession in interaction with psychiatry but also with other medical branches just as with judiciary, educational institutions, moral-ethical institutions and religious institutions in producing preventive programmes and by participating in individual decision making process likewise. Our primary goal is to present the status and the position of contemporary forensic psychiatry and to specify the necessary improvements and its place in integrative psychiatry. It should be better, more meaningful and more ethical, both for the individual and the society in total. We want forensic psychiatry to include a protective and therapeutic role for each individual forensic examinee, i.e. a person who has already been in forensic examination and for whom one evaluates mental competence because of a mental disorder. We also want it to get a far larger and more active general role in society in terms of preventing criminal acts among the mentally ill and in society in total.     

Assessments for the courts: A survey of Australian psychologists

Forensic psychology is established in Australia. However, unlike in some countries, no survey of forensic psychologists and their activities has been published locally. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 79 Australian psychologists who do assessments for the courts. The results reveal that most of the respondents had post‐graduate qualifications in psychology and were experienced psychologists, but were less experienced in doing assessments for the courts and lacked formal forensic training. The study identifies areas in forensic training that respondents believe were not adequate, including key areas such as childcare and custody evaluations. It highlights the importance of reports in the forensic field because, relative to the number of reports they prepare, it is rare for respondents to testify. Finally the study discloses that while respondents are generally satisfied with the treatment they receive, and the court atmosphere, they believe that their answers and testimony are sometimes distorted.