Citation

Vandervort FE. J. Crim. Law Criminol. 2006; 96(4): 1353-1416.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Northwestern University School of Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Legal scholars have long debated the efficacy and necessity of videotaping investigative interviews with children when allegations of child sexual abuse have surfaced. This debate has been advanced from the perspectives of adversaries in the criminal justice system, prosecutors and defense advocates. Absent from this debate has been the perspective of the broader community. This debate has failed to consider how other investigative tools might be used in con unction with videotaping to advance the interests the community. Moreover, the debate about videotaping has taken place with little actual data. This Article seeks to accomplish two goals. First, it seeks to consider the interests of the broader community in the debate about whether investigative interviews of children in cases of suspected child sexual abuse should be videotaped. Second, this Article presents both quantitative and qualitative data from a single county's longstanding use of a protocol for investigating these difficult cases. The author concludes that videotaping, when used as one element of an integrated protocol for investigating child sexual abuse, can serve the interests of the community.