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Background to Victim Statement Scheme
The Deputy Minister for Justice (Hugh Henry) stated :
“The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced a new right for victims to make a written statement to the court about the impact on them of the crime. It sought not to erode the rights of the accused but to bring a better balance to a system in which victims sometimes feel alienated and do not have a right to tell the court, in their own words, how the crime has affected their life.”
From 25 November 2003 to 24 November 2005, a pilot Victim Statement (VS) scheme operated in Ayr, Edinburgh and Kilmarnock. The scheme aimed to provide an opportunity to victims of prescribed offences to make a statement about the personal impact of the crime, once a decision to prosecute had been taken. The Scottish Government is now considering plans to extend the scheme to all cases heard before a judge in the High Court or a sheriff and jury, as part of their strategy to “put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system” (Scotsman 2007). This paper is a response to the Government’s invitation for external parties to submit views on the practical implementation of the VS scheme.
The VS scheme is, in part, an attempt to contribute to the important objective of securing greater participation for victims in the criminal justice process. However, the evidence suggests that, to do so effectively rather than just symbolically, it would require substantial modification. The only (unambiguously) positive outcome for victims participating in the pilot VS scheme was the personal therapeutic benefit of writing their thoughts and feelings down on paper. Yet most victims did not submit their statements for this reason. They did so instead with the expectation that it would have an impact on the legal process and/or the offender’s attitudes and behaviour. However, there is little evidence to suggest that their statements achieved either objective. Hence, we would recommend that the VS scheme should be modified so that the ‘voice’ of victims is given a more substantial role in the legal process. If that is not possible, then it should be limited to the purpose of enabling victims to experience the therapeutic benefit, without leading them to expect that their statements will have any concrete effects on the legal process.
Prior to this announcement in December 2001 SCID had responded to the consultation on Procedures for a Victims’ Statement scheme and registered a number of reservations, which included:
*The victim/s statement is being treated as a witness statement, (which it is not) and will form part of the case papers and be available to defence agents.
* If victim/s do not take the option to make a statement what inferences will be drawn by the judge/sheriff?
* Contrary to the position of the defence agent the victim/s cannot express a view on a sentence and there are no assurances that the victim/s statement will be acted upon.
* Victims and victim families have real fears that the content of their personal statement could be divulged to offenders and could cause all sorts of problems at the completion of the offenders’ punishment.
* A victim’s emotions and problems arising from the crime will be put in the public domain whilst defence agents always advise their clients, for obvious reasons, to be economic with information, this means the offender keeps his/her privacy.
* The victim/s statement could be used by other criminal justice agencies.
* The role of defence agents is to have their client acquitted or if guilty, to offer mitigating circumstances in a plea for leniency. The defence agent by having access to victim/s statement containing personal and sensitive information could take advantage of the victim/s vulnerabilities. It is only too predictable that some defence agents will take the opportunity to show that the victim had “problems” before the bereavement.
SCID recommenced:
To safeguard the interests of victims/victim families and to allow them to participate in the criminal justice system, victims/victim families should have as a minimum right;
Legal status within the Criminal Justice System
The option of making a verbal/written statement available to the judge/sheriff at the conclusion of a case but before sentencing. This would balance the defence agent’s plea in mitigation. The judge/sheriff may or may not take into account either statement. Any sensitive information should be made available to the judge/sheriff through a medical report.
A further option to submit an updated verbal/written statement e.g. to assist the considerations of the Parole Board or to assist the court in their decisions for early return an offender’s driving licence before the disqualification period is completed.
Update on Pilot Victims Statement Scheme - November 2007
The pilot scheme has been evaluated and the researchers have made some very interesting points. To see the Argument presented by Dr Derek Brookes and Steve Kirkwood click here.
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