Office of Public Prosecution
Evaluating the impact of Court Dogs in Victoria’s criminal justice system
How much support can an adorable labrador offer a victim of crime on their day in court? A lot. Paper Giant examined and assessed the impact of the Office of Public Prosecution’s Court Dogs program.
Outcomes
- Compelling insights from three key cohorts uncovered through ethical research design
- Overwhelming evidence to expand the Court Dogs program
- Media coverage ready research findings assets and quotes from interviews
Services
Available for pats and cuddles during stressful moments
Introduced in 2017 as a pilot program by the Office of Public Prosecution, Court Dogs have grown to include four fully accredited support dogs working in the Victorian justice system. They are trained to lie at the feet of witnesses and are available for pats and cuddles during stressful moments. While court users and professionals have both reported positive feedback, there had been no thorough research into the program's impact until the Office of Public Prosecution engaged Paper Giant to investigate.
We used a mix of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods to show that court dogs are universally loved and deliver exception value to the justice system.
A sensitive and ethical mixed-methods research approach
We used a mixed-method approach to better understand the program's impact, including a survey and a series of interviews. As experts in trauma-informed research, the Paper Giant team approached the study mindful of the sensitivities, including confidentiality, in engaging with victims of crime for this research.
The voluntary survey saw a positive response with 280 respondents, including victims of crime, parents of victims of crime, and court professionals. We also conducted five qualitative interviews with individuals, including judges and victims of crime, to provide deeper insights into their experiences with the program.
Having Lucy is like having someone hold your hand while you’re giving evidence. Everything is so official in court and sometimes you feel like no one cares about you in the courtroom, but a dog’s love is unconditional
— Research Participant
An overwhelmingly positive response
The survey revealed compelling results: 89% of victims of crime reported feeling ‘less overwhelmed’ on their day in court, thanks to the presence and companionship of court dogs. Of the professionals in the justice system we surveyed, the vast majority believe that court dogs assist witnesses to get through their evidence more calmly and efficiently. This has a range of flow-on benefits, both in terms of court costs and in terms of enhancing the experience of the justice system both for victims of crimes and people accused of crimes. Very few court professionals conveyed concerns that the dogs were disruptive to court proceedings.
An extraordinary 92% of survey respondents strongly advocated for the program's expansion, with many suggesting benefits in settings like the Children's Court, the Family Court and other justice settings. As part of our work on this project, Paper Giant provided short-term, medium-term and long-term recommendations for the Office of Public Prosecution, including ideas to improve data collection and advocacy for program expansion.
The project was celebrated in The Age
There is no way I would have been able to survive this process mentally or physically without Lucy. She’s just so special.
— Research Participant
