Revised practitioner guidance for joint investigative interviewing of children

Overview

Joint Investigative Interviewing (JII) is a key part of Scotland's child protection and justice systems. A JII is a forensic interview conducted by specially trained police officers and social workers to gather information for evidential purposes from child victims and witnesses and to assess whether protective action may be required for that child or any other child.

The original guidance on JIIs was prepared and issued by the Scottish Government in 2011.  The guidance provides a national framework for planning, conducting, supporting, reviewing and using joint investigative interviews involving child victims and witnesses. It is primarily intended for those involved in the planning, conduct, quality assurance and use of JIIs, as well as local partnerships responsible for ensuring that best practice standards are achieved and maintained.

The guidance promotes an approach to interviewing that is trauma-informed, places the needs, rights and wellbeing of children at the centre of planning and decision-making, and supports the collection of high-quality evidence from child victims and witnesses.

Significant changes and improved practice have taken place since the original guidance was written, most fundamentally the adoption of Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM). This revised guidance has been prepared for the purposes of Section 7 of the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014, which makes clear that police officers and social workers have a statutory duty to have due regard to guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers when carrying out JIIs.

Read the consultation paper. The consultation paper contains full background information for this consultation. You may find it useful to read or refer to while responding.