A study examined existing practice and evidence on victims' support needs, together with outcome measurement and quality assurance in the victim support sector. The needs of victims were complex, dynamic, and wide ranging, and the support service sector was diverse. Practice in measuring outcomes that providers aimed to achieve for victims, and approaches to quality assurance within the sector, also varied considerably.
Source: Meg Callanan, Ashley Brown, Caroline Turley, Tom Kenny, and Julian Roberts, Evidence and Practice Review of Support for Victims and Outcome Measurement, Research Report 19/12, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Dec
The Council of the European Union adopted a Directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support, and protection of victims of crime. It contained obligations for member states to provide information to victims, such as information on a decision not to proceed with the case. The Directive was also designed to ensure that every victim was offered protection measures during the criminal proceedings in accordance with their needs, and that support measures were available to victims and their families.
Source: Press release 4 October 2012, European Commission
Links: European Commission press release
Date: 2012-Oct
A report examined whether victims of crime were open to the greater use of community sentences, and if so, how their existing limited confidence in such sentences might be enhanced. Being a victim of crime did not generally lead people to become more punitive towards offenders. Overall the attitudes of victims were not significantly different from those of the wider public. Both groups believed strongly in punishment and public protection, but not to the exclusion of rehabilitation and reform.
Source: Out in the Open: What victims really think about community sentencing, Victim Support/Make Justice Work
Links: Report | Victim Support press release
Date: 2012-Sep
The coalition government published its response to consultation on proposals to improve support for victims and witnesses. Up to an extra £50 million for victims' support services would be generated each year from offenders by increasing the victim surcharge that they were ordered to pay on fines, and by extending it to offenders given a conditional discharge or community/custodial sentence.
Source: Getting it Right for Victims and Witnesses: The Government Response, Cm 8397, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response | Hansard | MOJ press release | Labour Party press release | Victim Support press release
Notes: Consultation document (January 2012)
Date: 2012-Jul
The Scottish Government began consultation on proposals for a Bill designed to improve the experience of victims and witnesses within the criminal justice system.
Source: Making Justice Work for Victims and Witnesses: Victims and Witnesses Bill – A Consultation Paper, Scottish Government
Links: Consultation document | Scottish Government press release | SNP press release | BBC report | Scotsman report
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the relative success and failure of 'rebalancing' the criminal justice system with the victim in mind. It suggested a number of reasons for the partial impact of this agenda, and considered the extent to which the recourse to compassion in political and policy rhetoric reflected a deeply embedded conceptual failure in respect of victim-oriented policy.
Source: Sandra Walklate, 'Courting compassion: victims, policy, and the question of justice', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 51 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the code of practice for victims of crime, introduced by the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. It said that the code's complaints process was not an effective and adequate mechanism for victims of crime. The code was largely inaccessible, long, and overly complex; it also failed to provide sufficient guarantees of privacy and objectivity, as well as adequate redress. Instead, victims of crime would benefit from the development of a new mechanism that was sensitive to their needs, valued accessibility and objectivity, and provided effective remedies to ensure redress and accountability.
Source: Marie Manikis, 'Navigating through an obstacle course: the complaints mechanism for victims of crime in England and Wales', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 12 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Apr
A joint inspectorate report said that young victims and witnesses were 'left to flounder' in an imperfect justice system, and that only limited progress had been made in addressing the recommendations made in a previous report in 2009.
Source: Joint Inspection Report on the Experience of Young Victims and Witnesses in the Criminal Justice System, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate/HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
Links: Report | Inspectorate press release
Date: 2012-Feb
The government began consultation on proposals to improve support for victims and witnesses, and to ensure that offenders took greater responsibility for repairing the harm that they had caused (through a combination of financial reparation and restorative justice). It also proposed 'reforms' to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme designed to exclude less serious injuries from the scheme and to place restrictions on payments to those with criminal convictions.
Source: Getting It Right for Victims and Witnesses, Cm 8288, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Consultation document | Summary | Hansard | MOJ press release | Police Federation press release | Victim Support press release
Date: 2012-Jan