Criminology Research Council grant ; (15/92-3)
Growing concern with the plight of victims of crime has seen the development of reforms such as victim support services, statutory rights to victim compensation, and modifications to the rules of criminal procedure and evidence. Increasingly there is pressure to better integrate victims (or at least victim impact information) into the criminal justice process - especially at the sentencing stage.
In the last decade, the criminal justice system's commitment to efficiency has added a new dimension to proposals of reform to the criminal justice system. This is particularly noticeable in the high volume summary jurisdiction. Our study examined the effect on victim information of administrative reforms designed to make the criminal justice system more "efficient". In particular, we were concerned to assess the impact of the introduction, in Victoria, of the "mention system".
We suggest that there are two major reasons for the lack of victim information provided to the courts. One lies in the nature of the forms on which informants write their summaries. These provided only a small rectangle for the recording of the summary.
However, the study indicates that police already collect considerable information about the victim. It would therefore be relatively easy for informants to provide details of that information if appropriate space and cues existed.