About us
See other news storiesPutting victims first
20 July 2006
New Criminal Justice Review calls for changes to ensure that courts and the parole system consider the rights of crime victims and the law-abiding public above all else.
Pointing to a 'worrying gap' between what the public expects of a criminal justice system and what it sees delivered, the government has released a new Criminal Justice Review that calls for major changes in sentencing and parole guidelines.
Crime rates have fallen 35% since 1997, and the risk of being a victim of crime is the lowest since the British Crime Survey began in 1981, but there is still widespread belief among the public that the criminal justice system is too lenient on violent and repeat offenders, and a general feeling that the rights of the victims are seen as secondary to those of the criminal. This is all a clear indication that, for many law-abiding people, the system simply isn't working as intelligently as it should.
The new Criminal Justice Review calls for the courts and the parole system to address these concerns by putting public safety and the needs of victims at the heart of everything they do.
To that end, the review's recommendations include:
- ensuring that parole board members considering cases involving serious violent or sexual offenders have direct or indirect experience as a victim, and can appreciate victims' concerns
- allowing victims' voices to be heard by parole boards in serious cases
- requiring all prosecutors to take victims' plights into account, and to protect their interests
- increasing compensation offenders must pay to victims
More prison cells, and a tougher attitude towards criminals
In order to ensure that the public and victims are better represented and protected, the system is going to have to get tougher on criminals. As part of this review, an additional 8,000 prison places will be created in addition to 900 already under construction, and sentencing will get harsher for violent and repeat offenders.
Among the key proposals in the review:
- criminals can expect a four-year maximum penalty for carrying a knife
- judges will have more discretion, including a view to ending the automatic halving of tariffs for those on unlimited sentences
- introduction of violent offender orders
- unanimous Parole Board decisions will be required in order to release prisoners
- automatic time off for guilty pleas will be ended, and discounts for offenders re-sentenced at appeal will be abolished
- more foreign national prisoners will be returned to serve sentences in their home countries
Giving victims a voice
Home Secretary John Reid said the review would ensure that the criminal justice system is geared at every stage to protect the public. It would, he said, set the balance right in the courts and parole boards.
'This review looks not just at sentencing and giving victims a stronger voice in the court process, but also at how we can work in a smarter way to cut crime - tackling anti-social behaviour swiftly and firmly, and focusing our efforts more effectively on the worst repeat offenders, and the most serious crime and criminals,' Dr. Reid said.
But he emphasised that the public should stay involved in the criminal justice debate, making their opinions heard above the clamour of the various interest groups involved. 'Justice is a matter not just for the Home Office or the government, but for our whole society, and our intention is to stimulate a wide-ranging public debate on the way forward.'
