Pre-recorded evidence for rape victims rolled out across Courts in Wales from today

Rape victims will be spared the stress of being cross-examined in court under a measure rolled out to every Crown Court in Wales today, 11 July 2022.

The provision – which is already available in many Crown Courts in England –  allows victims and witnesses of crimes such as rape and modern slavery to have their cross-examination video-recorded and played later during trail. This is subject to a successful application to the court.

The recording takes place as close to the time of the offence as possible, while memories remain fresh, and helps victims avoid the stress of giving evidence in a live trial, which many find traumatic.

From today, all 6 Crown Courts in Wales will now offer this support, including in Mold, Caernarfon, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Swansea.

The move follows the successful implementation for vulnerable victims, such as children or those who have limited mental capacity, across the country – with more than 2,500 witnesses having already benefitted from the technology since August 2020.

The measure is also designed to maintain a defendant’s right to a fair trial and any decision to pre-record evidence is made by a judge on a case-by-case basis.

It will mean that 54 Crown Courts can offer pre-recorded evidence – nearly two thirds of all Crown Courts in England and Wales.

Welsh Women’s Aid Chief Executive Sara Kirkpatrick said: “Special measures to ensure that victims and witnesses are not further traumatised by their experiences through the courts are a vital component of a victim centred criminal justice system.”

“We welcome that all crown courts across Wales will now have the facility to use pre-recorded evidence of victims, which will help to provide scope and flexibility for individuals to engage with historically intimidating justice systems.”

Secretary of State for Wales Robert Buckland said:

“To improve conviction rates for rape and sexual violence it is vital that victims can provide the best possible evidence and are not further traumatised by their experiences in court.”

“Video evidence works and is part of our ongoing programme to transform the criminal justice system so victims are at its centre.”

“I helped begin this work during my previous role in government and I am delighted to see these measures being rolled out in every crown court in Wales.”