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Research conducted at the University of Nottingham has played a key role in developing new guidance for judges giving directions to juries in rape trials in England and Wales. The research explored the influence of providing (mock) jurors with education to counter `rape stereotypes'. Its findings fed into the work of an Expert Panel, convened by the Solicitor-General, and played a key role in supporting the inclusion of `myth-busting' directions in the Crown Court Benchbook. These may alter the ways in which jurors deliberate and ensure greater justice. Beneficiaries include the CPS, judges, jurors, rape complainants, criminal justice practitioners and policy-makers, and the general public.
The research of Prof Jennifer Temkin on rape myths and stereotypes has influenced the way in which rape trials are conducted and drawn the attention of participants in the criminal trial process to the dangers of stereotyping victims and defendants.
The effects of Temkin's research include:
Legislation, policy and practice surrounding the criminal justice response to rape in Scotland have been profoundly influenced by the work of Professor Michele Burman. Her research directly informed the Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2002, and continues to influence policy and practice guidance. Her research on rape attrition/conviction rates informed changes to investigative/prosecutorial responses. Her work was drawn on in the Scottish Law Commission's review of the law of rape and informed the subsequent Sexual Offences 2009 Act which introduced radical changes to the definitions of rape and of consent. Burman's research has been adopted by Rape Crisis Scotland in national campaigns, and crucially informed training materials for the judiciary in Scotland and abroad.
Judicial studies is a new research field in the UK and operates in the highly confidential arena of judicial policy and practice, where the impact of research in producing change is often not publicly stated. But pioneering empirical work by UCL's Judicial Institute (UCLJI) and Centre for International Courts and Tribunals (CICT) has had tangible and acknowledged impacts on judicial selection and training policies and practices in the UK, Europe and at the international court level. The research impacts include:
This research informed the introduction and on-going implementation of a major criminal policy innovation, namely, Pre-Trial Witness Interviewing (PTWI) by Crown Prosecutors across England and Wales. It was conducted in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and provided independent evaluation of PTWI as an integral component of the piloting phase prior to national roll-out. The research formed part of the initial PTWI training of selected Crown Prosecutors and, following roll-out, continued to serve as a resource for frontline prosecutors, affecting case progression, complainants' experiences and the outcomes of criminal cases (prominently including serious sexual assaults and domestic violence).
Masson's three linked studies of the operation of child protection proceedings led to changes in the ways in which the courts handle the 10,500 care proceedings annually concerning around 18,000 children in England and Wales. The findings from the research have directly impacted in three ways: on the Family Justice Review as well as the design and implementation of the 2013 reforms to care proceedings to reduce their cost and duration; through changes in local authority pre-proceedings practice; and on the better collation of statistics concerning care proceedings by court administrative staff. The research made an important contribution to the reduction in the average length of such proceedings from 55 weeks to 37 weeks between 2011 and 2013