Virtual Reality Set To Bring Jury Close To Crime Scene
As any Juror would tell you, piecing together a crime from a series of documents tendered in a courtroom is no easy feat, especially when a person’s future hangs in the balance.
Traditionally, Lawyers would incorporate crime scene site visits and photographic evidence to support their arguments to Juries, leading to decisions whether the information met the requirements of a particular criminal charge.
However, with the advent of Virtual Reality (VR) being implemented in the courtroom, members of the Jury will have better chances of making the right decisions during close examination, whilst limiting the possibility of struggling to reach a consensus caused by individual interpretations and poor attention to details encompassing the cases.
The University of South Australia provided overwhelming evidence in favour of using VR in the courtroom through a recent study. The participants who viewed the scene of a Hit-And-Run via 3D Headsets, were 9.5 times more likely (86.67 per cent) to choose the verdict – Death by Dangerous Driving, as opposed to the group who relied on photographs, who were split 47/53 per cent between a Careless Driving Verdict and Dangerous Driving Verdict.
On The Record presenter Fiona Bartholomaeus is joined in the studio with Dr Andrew Cunningham from the University of South Australia who took part in the research.
Together they discuss how VR will play a pivotal role in Criminology to help reach future verdicts in real life cases more efficiently, including the potential impact on the mental health of Jurors involved within ongoing investigations.
