Tuesday, 9 March 2021
Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner has written to Home Secretary Priti Patel urging her to support a new “victims’ law.”
David Munro has put his weight behind the campaign created by national Victims Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird.
The law would give victims a set of core statutory rights with the impetus on bodies like the police to uphold them.
These include informing them of the state of their case, simpler rules for compensation and free legal representation at inquests.
David Munro said: ‘Victims of crime generally have a rotten time of it - although I have to say that in Surrey, I think they are treated better than most other parts of the country. The crime they’ve suffered is bad enough, but too often the justice system subsequently lets them down. That’s not criticism of individuals in Surrey - they work tirelessly to keep their show on the road - but the system simply isn’t fair to victims.
‘There are particular problems at the moment, with significant delays in the courts. Again, Surrey isn’t as bad as elsewhere, but far too many victims are having to wait months and in some cases well over a year to get their case settled. For example, a year ago my Victims and Witnesses Care Unit was supporting 438 trials: a year later, the number had risen to over 800. And the number of victims deciding they’ve had enough and don’t want to support prosecution has also risen sharply.
‘A Victims’ Law won’t change matters overnight but will be a significant step to giving victims the rights and respect they deserve.’
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 9:33 pm
