Research summary
Researchers have been studying children’s involvement in the justice system for more than 30 years. But there are still some critical issues that remain unresolved, including how to help children file criminal complaints and how to ensure that investigators use evidence-based practices to obtain statements from children during interviews.
Dr. Heather Price, Canada Research Chair in Culture and Communities: Children and the Law, aims to increase the chances that victimized children will participate in the justice system and that the evidence obtained from them will be of greater value. She and her research team are focusing on two key areas: understanding how children remember repeated events, and eliciting and enhancing the credibility of children’s statements. Ultimately, they aim to improve the experiences children have with the justice system.