Appearing in court is a stressful experience, especially so for children.
Enter Mabel the golden retriever who is currently the only Ministry of Justice court dog in New Zealand, trained to support victims of crime. She's also a finalist in New Zealand's Top Dog competition.
Mabel the court dog Photo: Supplied
Mabel lives in Tauranga with her owner, court victim advisor Gail Bryce.
The idea isn’t new, she told Jesse Mulligan.
“They do have them in America, there's nearly 300 courthouse dogs over 41 states,” she says.
Mabel is a fully trained mobility dog and she offers comfort and reassurance to young victims, Bryce says.
“If a child's coming to give evidence, I will meet them outside the building with the detective and their support people.”
The child will then lead Mabel through security, she says.
“There's usually about six security guards there. So that's daunting for an adult.
“But the children don't even seem to recognise that, they're just going through the scanner, being wanded, because the security guards will wand Mabel as well and ask her if she's got a cell phone on her.”
Mabel stays with the child as they give evidence, she says, and is also available for children to play with in breaks.
“There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a child in a break, just rolling on the floor with Mabel.”
Mabel also makes a profound difference to how children react to the court setting, she says, giving the example of one child who got scared, tongue-tied in court.
“Typically, before a trial goes ahead with a child, the judge and the lawyers or prosecutors will come and meet the child, which they did in this case, it was a police prosecution.
“Anyway, they went back into the courtroom, the CCTV went live, the police prosecutor was talking to the child and the child wouldn't speak.
“She had been fine five minutes before. So, the prosecutor said “is Mabel nibbling your toes? And the child said, ‘No! Mabel wouldn't do that.’ And we were away.
“So, if we can keep the child calmer, and enable them to give their best evidence, then job done.”
Bryce says she hopes courts around the country will follow suit and get their own Mabels to help young victims of crime navigate the court system.
