How victims of crime will be put first – Tom Pursglove

It is the right thing to do, but it is 
also essential on a practical level to ensure that in operational terms we 
have the most effective justice system possible.

After all, we can secure convictions and bring down rates of crime only if victims have the confidence to report crimes to the police and engage with prosecutors to make sure that their testimony is heard in court.

For both those reasons and at every level, we must do better.

As things stand, too many victims feel that the criminal justice system does not deliver justice for them.

Too many feel let down by the system, which compounds the pain and suffering from the original crime.

In fact, it is worrying that as many as three in five victims do not even report a crime that they have suffered.

A survey by the Victims’ Commissioner shows that, based on their experience of the criminal justice system, a third of victims would not report a crime again.

The evidence demonstrates that a third of victims who do go to police will later disengage from the process.

In those cases, justice is not delivered for victims, and the public are left exposed to criminals left to carry on offending. That must change.

I want to guarantee that victims are at the very heart of the criminal justice system. Rather than feeling peripheral to the process, victims should feel supported so that they can properly engage at every step.

Our plan for delivering a world-class service to victims has five crucial elements that we will deliver through the Victims Bill.

First, we want to amplify the voice of victims and ensure that they are properly engaged at every stage of the criminal justice system. We want to ensure agencies communicate with victims better. For example, we are consulting on the requirement for the prosecutor in certain types of case to communicate directly with victims before they decide whether to charge a suspect.

Secondly, we will increase transparency in respect of the performance of our criminal justice agencies. We are publishing the first national criminal justice and adult rape scorecards. They will bring together data to give a cross-system view of performance, including aspects that matter to victims such as how long it takes for cases to be investigated and charges to be made.

Thirdly, we want to ensure that there are clearer and sharper lines of accountability when victims do not receive the right level of service. We will enshrine the victims’ code in law to send a clear signal about what victims can and should reasonably expect from the criminal justice system.

Fourthly, we want to help victims to rebuild their lives through accessible and professional services, and ensure that criminals pay more to support those services. We propose to increase the victim surcharge, which helps to fund victim services; that will mean criminals paying more to right their own wrongs, and in the process help victims to 
recover from what they have 
suffered.

Finally, we want to ensure there are better tools to protect victims and prosecute culprits. We are already making significant progress, and I can announce that we are planning a national roll-out to expand provision of section 28 pre-recorded cross-examination for sexual and modern slavery victims to all Crown courts, with the specific priority of ensuring that victims of rape across the country pre-record their evidence and avoid the ordeal of facing the full glare of the courtroom.

This Government will deliver credible change for victims.

We will give them a more powerful voice at every stage of the criminal justice system. We will increase transparency and redress in respect of the support that they receive in practice.

We will ensure that every criminal justice agency is properly held to account for its role in the wider system.

We will better protect victims, especially victims of rape and sexual violence, to give them greater confidence about giving the testimony that can help to secure a conviction.

We will make the perpetrators of crime pay more to help victims recover. That is our plan to give victims the justice they deserve.

Tom Pursglove MP is a justice minister who delivered a new victims strategy to Parliament – this is an edited version.

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