¹û¶³´«Ã½

Video recordings that capture complainants' statements at or near the scene of an incident are increasingly used as evidence in Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) cases, including through Domestic Violence Evidence-in-Chief (DVEC) in Australia and New Zealand (Iliadis et al., 2024; Walton et al., 2021) and body-worn camera footage in England and Wales (Cann, 2026). While these pre-recorded statements can enhance the accuracy and authenticity of the evidence, they may also introduce extra-legal influences through elements visible or audible in the footage. One such factor is emotionality, both in complainants’ emotional expressions (Nitschke et al., 2019; van Doorn & Koster, 2019) and fact-finders’ emotional reactions to those expressions (Georges et al., 2013; Nuñez et al., 2015), which may shape how evidence is evaluated and judgements are formed. Recordings may also contain visible details from complainants’ homes or surroundings that shape inferences about their character and reliability (Roberts & Ormerod, 2021; van Golde et al., 2022), while differences in lighting, sound quality, camera angle, and subject distance may also influence legal decision-making (Bowen & Thompson, 2013; Bandes & Feigenson, 2020). Despite their potential influence, these extra-legal factors remain under-researched. This project addresses these gaps through three lines of research examining (1) emotionality, (2) background information, and (3) audio-visual quality in the recorded statements, and their effects on credibility assessments, verdicts, and guilt ratings. Findings will inform evidence-based guidance for the use of pre-recorded complainant evidence in DFV cases across jurisdictions.