Communication assistance is a form of specialist support for witnesses and defendants in justice settings who have been identified as having communication difficulties. This new role in New Zealand is modelled on the role of the intermediary in England and Wales. To date however, there has been no published review or evaluation on how communication assistance is functioning and being viewed by professionals in practice. This study provides a qualitative analysis of professionals’ perspectives (n = 28 participants) on the benefits of communication assistance for young people facing criminal charges in the New Zealand youth justice system. The main finding is that professionals are overwhelmingly in support of this new role. Professionals considered that communication assistance helps put the young person at the centre of youth justice, brings new knowledge and a fresh perspective, and helps the system to function as it ideally should.

中文翻译：

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“真是太好了……为什么不早点发生？” 专业人士对新西兰青年司法系统中沟通援助的好处的看法

沟通援助是在司法环境中为被确定有沟通困难的证人和被告提供的一种专家支持形式。新西兰的这一新角色模仿了英格兰和威尔士的中介角色。然而，迄今为止，还没有公开的评论或评估关于沟通援助如何运作以及专业人士在实践中如何看待。本研究对专业人士（n = 28 名参与者）的观点进行定性分析，以了解新西兰青年司法系统中面临刑事指控的年轻人的交流援助的好处。主要发现是，绝大多数专业人士都支持这一新角色。专业人士认为，沟通援助有助于将年轻人置于青年司法的中心，