In my role as a support worker I may encounter a situation where the matter of confidentiality has to be weighed up against the welfare of the individual in question. In these instances confidentiality has to be broken to meet my obligations and duty of care in reporting to the correct and relevant authorities e.g. safeguarding; this has the potential for tension but for the greater good, must be adhered…
Possibly the single most greatest cause of wrongful convictions worldwide is eyewitness misidentifications. Although eyewitness testimony can be very convincing and persuasive before a judge and jury, not too many people have a photographic memory. Only 3% of people worldwide have a photographic memory. An eyewitnesses memory is not as accurate as watching a surveillance tape of the crime. Instead, eyewitness identification must be preserved carefully, just like any other evidence collected in the case. All the more reason that a witnesses statement should be taken immediately and then be asked the same questions at a later time to ensure the stories match up. If there is any major variation in a witness statement, they should not be allowed to testify during a trial. This may lead to unreliable information and wrongfully portray how the crime had taken place and who was involved. A 1982 case involving a man, Calvin Willis, was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison with no parole for aggravated rape of a 10 year old girl. Blood and seminal stains were collected from the clothing and bedding and Willis was identified as a contributor…
Sexual assault offences are the least reported crimes in NSW, with only 15-20% being reported in 2004. Out of the reported offences, an estimated 2% were convicted. Even being compared to all other categories of crime it is a small conviction rate. These conditions gave rise to the need for law reform, and research into why both the rate of reporting the crimes, and the conviction rate were so low. ‘Why Sexual Violence is Almost Legal’1 gives an insight into the delay and lack of convictions in this area. Research found that many victims believed that they wouldn’t win their case, and so they didn’t report it. In 70% of the cases, the offender is known to the victim which makes the proof even more difficult. This is because the case is usually replying on one person’s word against the other, unless there is convincing physical evidence. Physical evidence for this also needs to be examined, which is an issue if the…
Describe and analyse the potential tension between maintaining an individual’s confidentiality and disclosing concerns. (e.g. where abuse of a child or young person is suspected, when it is suspected that a crime has been/may be committed)…
“In 1984 Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted of the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl and sentenced to the gas chamberan outcome that rested largely on the testimony of five eyewitnesses. After Bloodsworth served nine years in prison, DNA testing proved him to be innocent. Such devastating mistakes by eyewitnesses are not rare, according to a report by the Innocence Project, an organization affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University that uses DNA testing to exonerate those wrongfully convicted of crimes” (Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, 2010). This is one case of how eyewitnesses can go wrong this was the story of how a man who was wrongly convicted because of someone who was an eyewitness. This story is one of many people who have been prosecuted under false accusations. There are a few things that can contribute to falsely convicting an individual like the witness being under a lot of pressure and stress when trying to properly identify someone. They witness could also be effected if there was any type of trauma or the perpetrator could be wearing a disguise, with a mask fake hair of sunglass that takes way from making identification. Also race can play a major role in what the witness…
Vogts, M. (2000, December 5). Sex Offenders have the Right to Privacy. The Daily O 'Collegian. Retrieved September 3, 2008.…
Consider the role of a learning support professional in a school. Outline the considerations for someone in that role when dealing with confidential information.…
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 is important in the reduction of risk of sexual abuse in health and social care settings. This is because, the Act makes employees feel safe and secure reporting incidents, including incidents of sexual abuse to the their managers. Therefore, if any employee were to become aware of sexual abuse that has or is occurring within their health or social care working environment, they could report this, and the manager could Act on the information, and implement action against the employee or service user carrying out the sexual abuse. Under the Act, if the management failed to act on information regarding sexual abuse, the employee could take the information to an external agency, such as the Care Quality Commission, who could implement action to prevent the risk of sexual abuse continuing. For example, they could order the care provider to dismiss any staff that have been sexually abusing a service…
Society relies so vastly on media as a source of information, that in some cases there can be discrepancy on what is deemed as appropriate or not appropriate when covering a story. This is the case for the story of Russell Williams who is charged with two accounts of murder, sexual assault and countless occurrences of breaking and entering. Williams’ case has been highly covered by the media and a great magnitude of disturbing details as well as photos has been provided while documenting events. The amount of information provided to the public has caused a controversy as to what is appropriate and ethical to share in concern of the victims directly involved in the case. The information provided as well as the photos is a necessary approach in order to inform the public of the severity of the situation. There are however, certain unnecessary disturbing details that should be omitted.…
The Sexual Offences Act 1976 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made provision in relation to rape and related offences. This Act put the Sex Offenders Register in action for identification and tracking purposes. This Act protects vulnerable people from danger, by tracking sex offenders.…
As indicated, rape shield laws provide protection against false conceptions and the suffering of an emotional trauma, which can lead to an erroneous decision in the trial. However, there are also some exceptions to these laws, which are applied in some specific cases. Evidence of the victim’s sexual…
In a criminal investigation case, a victim is usually seeking justice for an offence against them personally. Victims can be involved in the criminal trial in a number of ways, from reporting a crime and assisting police in testifying at a trial as a witness impact statement. However in certain cases a victim can be of significant value in the criminal investigation process as they may be the only witness to the crime. The victim also has the right to maintain their dignity and to be protected from the accused as they may have access to certain information that may be otherwise confidential. The victims’ rights are outlined in the victims’ rights act 1996. Victims also have to right to a victim impact statement, being a voluntary statement written by the victim about the impact of the crime had on them. Although this is only allowed in serious offences and to ensure fairness in particular highly sensitive cases the judge may not allow a victim impact statement, on the grounds to assuring that the emotional content does not persuade the jury and result in a bias verdict. (Case)…
“In July of 1994, Jesse Timmendequas, a convicted sex offender, raped, beat and strangled Megan Nicole Kanka. This sex offender lived across the street from the Kanka family; however the family was never aware of this.” (www.mapsexoffenders.com) This event brought about the ongoing controversy that is whether or not to give out information on sex offenders. The Kanka family decided after the murder of their daughter, something had to be done about the lack of knowledge of the residences of sex offenders. The family and over 430,000 other people signed a petition to get the names, addresses, and personal information of registered sex offenders out there for the public to observe. These terms were eventually turned into laws called “Meagan’s Laws.” Each state maintains an online registry of all the registered sex offenders in the nation. These websites contain maps where a user can enter street names, city names, state, and zip codes to look up sex offenders. Some websites even provide pictures along with the names and addresses of the offenders.…
In 1994 “The Jacob Wetterling Crimes against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act” was passed. This required each state to maintain and continuously update a registry especially for sex offenders. The registry lists all registered sex, the type of crime they committed, workplace of the offender, and home address. The registry…
All individuals have the right to be protected from abuse: Whistle Blowing / Adult Protection Protocols / Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards…