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Preparing a Victim Personal Statement
From Online Learning June 21, 2017
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If a crime has been reported to the police, and the offender has been caught and is being prosecuted at court, the victim should, in England and Wales, be asked to make a Victim Personal Statement. This is done by a police officer. In this video, we’ll rejoin the family who were burgled as they make a Victim Personal Statement.
The Victim Personal Statement will be included in the prosecution file. It is aimed at giving the prosecution and the sentencer (if the offender is convicted) information about the effects of the offence on the victim. The 2013 Code of Practice says that victims must be given the opportunity to make a statement. However, the judge does not have to take it into account or mention it (though many judges do). There is a judicial direction that victims must not mention or advocate any particular sentence, it is only supposed to contain information on the effects of the offence.
Research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the procedure for collecting Victim Personal Statements. They seem only to be offered to victims in a minority of cases, perhaps because police officers do not always remember to do so. They are also taken soon after the offence, whereas for serious offences, they really need updating after a period of time, and nearer to sentence, because the effects of the offence often only become apparent after a while – things like persistent psychological effects of flash-back memories or worries about going to particular places.
In England and Wales, the statement is a written statement, passed to the judge. In homicide cases, like murder or manslaughter, though, victims – relatives of the person killed - now have the opportunity to read it out themselves, or have it read out in open court by the prosecution barrister. In other countries, it is normal for victims to be able to speak about the offence in court, but this has not been taken up in England and Wales, where there are worries about giving victims too large a role at sentencing.
Research in England and Wales has found that making a Victim Personal Statement can be helpful to victims, but that victims are not often aware of the limitations of its use and may have incorrect expectations of how much it may influence what happens at court. Research in the Netherlands indicates that Victim Personal Statements help some victims feel more in control, which does have therapeutic benefits. But research in other countries which have had such statements longer, such as in the United States, has found that judges, though they find the information useful, will not always allow it to affect their sentence. So the research evidence is mixed – statements may not always be offered, they can be helpful to victims, but whether they are effective at court is another matter.
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The Victim Personal Statement will be included in the prosecution file. It is aimed at giving the prosecution and the sentencer (if the offender is convicted) information about the effects of the offence on the victim. The 2013 Code of Practice says that victims must be given the opportunity to make a statement. However, the judge does not have to take it into account or mention it (though many judges do). There is a judicial direction that victims must not mention or advocate any particular sentence, it is only supposed to contain information on the effects of the offence.
Research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of the procedure for collecting Victim Personal Statements. They seem only to be offered to victims in a minority of cases, perhaps because police officers do not always remember to do so. They are also taken soon after the offence, whereas for serious offences, they really need updating after a period of time, and nearer to sentence, because the effects of the offence often only become apparent after a while – things like persistent psychological effects of flash-back memories or worries about going to particular places.
In England and Wales, the statement is a written statement, passed to the judge. In homicide cases, like murder or manslaughter, though, victims – relatives of the person killed - now have the opportunity to read it out themselves, or have it read out in open court by the prosecution barrister. In other countries, it is normal for victims to be able to speak about the offence in court, but this has not been taken up in England and Wales, where there are worries about giving victims too large a role at sentencing.
Research in England and Wales has found that making a Victim Personal Statement can be helpful to victims, but that victims are not often aware of the limitations of its use and may have incorrect expectations of how much it may influence what happens at court. Research in the Netherlands indicates that Victim Personal Statements help some victims feel more in control, which does have therapeutic benefits. But research in other countries which have had such statements longer, such as in the United States, has found that judges, though they find the information useful, will not always allow it to affect their sentence. So the research evidence is mixed – statements may not always be offered, they can be helpful to victims, but whether they are effective at court is another matter.
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