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For effective provision of justice it is important that young witnesses are involved in criminal trials, yet participation may be detrimental to their well-being and presents challenges for gaining full and accurate evidence from them. Innovations in court processes intended to support the well-being of young witnesses should, amongst other considerations, be informed by the perspectives and experiences of those whom they are intended to assist. The participants in the current study consisted of young complainant witnesses who were involved in criminal court trials for sexual offences, along with their parents or caregivers. Semi-structured interviews with individual participants were conducted. Audio recordings of interviews were then transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Nine themes were identified in the data: (1) pre-trial delay makes everything worse, (2) uncertainty is difficult and being prepared is important, (3) cross-examination is stressful, (4) having a voice is a positive aspect of the trial, (5) the possibility of seeing the defendant is stressful, (6) for parents, putting on a brave face and being a supporter is challenging, (7) young witnesses feel exposed by the court process and family members feel exposed to details of the offending, (8) support is critical, and (9) families place importance on the verdict and sentencing. The findings are considered within the New Zealand context as well as other jurisdictions, and recommendations are made.

In light of existing research, the findings of this study indicate that many firesetters are at risk for future offending and that identification of high-risk individuals is therefore an important consideration for any organization involved with firesetters. To minimize this risk, there is a need for a collaborative, multiagency approach to firesetting behaviour involving comprehensive risk assessment and appropriate referral for at-risk individuals.

Research has established links between youth firesetting and general antisocial behavior. The current study sought to better understand these links by identifying fire-specific and general risk factors for offending from a national sample of children and adolescent firesetters ( N = 1,790), from a New Zealand Fire Service intervention program, up to 10 years after intervention. Most (62%) had committed an offense post-intervention, primarily moderate or severe offending. Only 5% had committed an arson offense post-intervention. Nearly all measures of victimization, psychosocial/emotional problems, previous conduct problem behavior, and child-welfare history were associated with post-intervention offending and/or offending severity. Pre-intervention offending and being older (aged 12+ years) at intervention were the major independent risk factors for offending. A protective factor was firesetting having occurred at home. Findings highlight young firesetters’ broad patterns of pervasive antisocial behavior and multiple adverse family, environmental, and individual factors that accompany and contribute to wide-ranging, non-fire-related offending.