Last week Jack Straw announced the launch of the National Victims Service with an additional £8 million being channelled primarily through Victims Support. He said it was in response to the report of Sara Payne, the victims’ champion, which wants to ‘redefine justice’. The main recommendation is that victims need to be considered in terms of the total impact of the crime committed against them and their individual needs arising from this impact.
So what is the Government’s record in relation to victims of crime? Since 1997 there have been more than ten reports, reviews and numerous Bills, yet the Government’s repeated mantra of ‘putting victims at the centre of the criminal justice system’ (CJS) is sounding increasingly hollow.
The CJS has an important role to play in supporting the victim through the system and also after care. Since 2008 we have been calling for more dedicated support particularly for victims of serious violent crime, such as families of homicide victims. However the CJS exists to provide justice not social service and for most victims who feel let down it is because justice has not been done for them and seen to be done. Most criminal offences do not see the light of a court house and are dealt with by a slap on the wrist as a caution or a penalty charge notice, the equivalent of a parking ticket. In 2007, 624,000 of the 1.374 million offences were dealt with out of court by what the DPP describes as ‘instant justice’.
Crime is of course an offence against the victim. The problem is that the personal character and consequences of crime are often ignored by the offender which can then be perpetuated by the CJS. We increasingly view crimes as against ‘society’ and not victims, reducing the responsibility on the offender to repair the damage done to the victim.
Continue reading "David Burrowes MP: Labour has failed to deliver justice for victims of crime" »
Recent Comments