Juror Wellbeing Policy
Dr Hannah Fawcett and Dr Matt Brooks (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Education)
The policy change we would like to see discussed during the 2024 election campaign is the implementation of juror wellbeing policy to ensure that courts in England and Wales adopt a trauma-informed approach to practice.
An important challenge the next government will face is ensuring proper wellbeing support for jurors. The positioning of jury service as an obligation enforced by law, shows us that the government has a legal and moral responsibility for any resulting juror distress. Fifty percent of jurors experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the isolation from family and routines, weighty decisions, graphic evidence, and lack of emotional support associated with their juror experience. Juror distress can have a huge impact on individual quality of life with difficulties including sleep disturbances, stress and flashbacks. Former jurors have even sued governments in Canada and Japan for the PTSD they have experienced because of jury service. With thousands of people undertaking jury service in England and Wales each year, and jurors on high profile cases sharing their distress, it is essential that the government implement policy to protect and support juror wellbeing.
The policy change I would like to see discussed during the general election is a policy of holistic juror wellbeing support. The Ministry of Justice has taken a positive first step with the recent announcement of a pilot post-trial juror wellbeing support scheme in England and Wales. We would like to see the government commit to fund support for jurors that ensures:
- Expert psychological input into the continuing development of trauma-informed court systems;
- Evaluation, development and roll-out of the pilot post-trial juror wellbeing support scheme to all courts and all jurors in England and Wales;
- Collection and publishing of quarterly data on juror experiences;
- Mandatory programme of specialist trauma-informed practice training for court staff, expert witnesses, and barristers;
- Trauma-informed practice in the selection, preparation, use, and discharging of jurors;
- Jurors are enabled and empowered to advocate for their own wellbeing;
- Juror wellbeing is at the heart of redevelopment of court buildings;
- Formal recognition and support for an annual ‘Jury Duty Appreciation Week’.
If this policy was implemented the government will discharge its ethical and legal obligation to jurors and minimise the risk of being the subject of legal action by individual jurors. Thousands of jurors each year would have a more positive juror experience, with cases of PTSD reduced. As stress can impair decision making, supporting juror wellbeing will help support a fair, effective and efficient trial process. Validation of jurors as an important cornerstone of the criminal justice system will increase public support for jury service and facilitate effective juror recruitment.
To find out more about their research on trauma-informed courtrooms go to www.courtroomwellbeinghub.mmu.ac.uk
