Victims' voices get go-ahead: ministers and judiciary agree pilot courts
23 Feb 2006
Ministers gave the green light after agreeing the piloting courts with senior members of the judiciary. Victims' advocates will be tested for one year in the Old Bailey and the Crown courts in Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester [Crown Square] and Winchester.
Trials in the pilot courts where a conviction for murder or manslaughter is secured will hear from an advocate speaking on behalf of the victim's family. The court will be told how the death and subsequent events have affected them.
The Government received nearly 100 responses to a consultation paper – Hearing the Relatives of Murder and Manslaughter Victims – providing a mix of views on victims' advocates. Responses came from across the legal profession, the criminal justice system, victims' organisations, relatives of victims of murder and manslaughter and members of the public.
The consultation provided ministers with firm support for its aim to put the needs of victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. Many respondents supported efforts to improve the information and support given to relatives throughout the criminal justice process.
Respondents supported the Government's proposals for the courts to be better informed about the impact of the crime on the relatives of murder and manslaughter victims. Families of victims and victims' groups, as well as many within the criminal justice system, welcomed proposals to give victims a real voice in court, including allowing them to make an oral statement to the court after conviction but before sentencing.
Announcing the pilot areas and the Government's intention to press ahead with victims' advocates, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said:
"This a ground-breaking way of supporting victims and their families. I am grateful to all those who looked closely at the victims' advocates consultation and responded with comments, all of which inform development of victims' advocates to improve the experience of the criminal justice system for bereaved relatives in murder and manslaughter cases.
"The consultation showed that there was firm support for piloting victims' advocates. The Government believes the proposals should now be tried out in practice. I am grateful to all those in the five pilot areas who will be helping to make this happen."
Rose Dixon, from Support After Murder and Manslaughter, welcomes victims' advocates:
"SAMM supports the changes that Lord Falconer has announced in relation to victims' advocates and acknowledges that this will go some way to redress the balance of the rights of the bereaved families in homicide cases and will give families a sense of having some input to the process."
A summary of responses to the Government's consultation on victims' advocates can be downloaded from the right hand side of this page.