Crime victim Bill ‘not good enough’
Improvements should be made to legislation aimed at protecting and supporting victims of crime, a Holyrood committee has said.
A report by the Justice Committee sets out recommendations for the Scottish Government’s Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill.
The legislation includes proposals to make offenders pay towards the cost of supporting victims, rights for victims to see certain information about their case and provisions for victims of sexual assaults to choose the gender of the police officer who interviews them.
While the committee supports the legislation, it says changes are needed to balance the rights of victims and those who are accused of crimes.
Committee convener Christine Grahame MSP said: “Our committee believes this Bill provides overdue support and protection for victims and witnesses, and we hope it will improve their experience of the criminal justice system.
“In particular we believe the flow of information from criminal justice organisations is not as co-ordinated as it should be.
“We heard in evidence that victims had to tell their often-traumatic stories around 16 times to various criminal justice organisations. This clearly is not acceptable.
“However, we also believe that improvements are required to certain parts of the Bill to ensure the rights of both the accused and those of victims and witnesses are balanced.
“In particular, while supporting victims and witnesses, we need to ensure that the access to justice and the presumption of innocence of the accused are protected, and we look forward to the Scottish Government’s response to these and other issues in our report.”
The committee supports the proposal to establish an online hub to give victims access to information about their individual case, but warns this should not replace the vital need for human interaction and support for victims. It also believes that the police and courts must be financed and trained to ensure they can provide the case-specific information to victims and witnesses.
