I do see my role primarily as two things - an educator and a researcher, the research part an essential prerequisite to being an educator. Helping victims and witnesses of crime is something that requires the education of everyone in the system. The process of helping them is educating those who deal with them, service them, respond to their needs. This is increasing the sensibility of people, increasing their knowledge.

I think our system has rightly placed its greatest concern on protecting the rights of those who are accused. We want to protect people from unjustified prosecution. But I do believe there has been a forgetting of the needs and rights of those who have been the victims of crime. I think it is possible to be sensitive to the rights of the victim without compromising the rights of the suspect.

John Yuille
Forensic Psychologist
Psychology Professor, University of British Columbia

Update: John served long and well as a professor and forensic psychologist. He died in 2017