Shatter plans to extend rights for crime victims
Announcing planned legislation for victims of crime, Mr Shatter said he was extending the legal entitlement for victims to give an impact statement to courts prior to sentencing to include burglary, theft, serious road traffic offences and anti-social behaviour.
He also said that a “scandalous” amount of money, so far amounting to €45 million, had been spent on Thornton Hall, before a single brick had been built.
He said he was setting up a committee to review whether the project would go ahead or not.
Mr Shatter was speaking at a consultative forum of victims of crime groups held by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime.
He said his Victims of Crime Bill, which he proposed in opposition in 2008, would “extend the circumstances in which there are victim impact reports given to courts prior to sentencing and impose specific legal obligations on justice agencies to ensure the concerns of victims are met and are kept fully informed”.
He said the Criminal Procedure Act 2010 extended victim impact statements to victims of sexual offences, violent offences, harassment and false imprisonment.
Mr Shatter said he planned to extend this right to offences including burglary, theft, road traffic offences that cause serious injury and offences resulting from anti-social behaviour “that substantially disrupts and in some instances destroys people’s lives”.
He said “too frequently” the impact of these offences are “not sufficiently considered” by judges when sentencing.
“I do have a concern that on occasions when the courts are passing sentence they are somewhat oblivious to the impact on the daily lives on individuals. On occasions what the court view as minor offences can be a major event in the life of an individual who has been affected.”
Mr Shatter said an expert body would start reviewing the Thornton Hall project next week and report by July 1 and a decision would then be made “as to whether this project will proceed”.
He added: “There’s been €45m so far spent in the context of the acquisition of land, the putting in of a road and the provision of services on the site. There has been an enormous, extraordinary and, in my view, scandalous amount of money spent on Thornton Hall, particularly the money spent on the acquisition of the site.”
He said he visited Mountjoy Prison after becoming minister and said it was now a “changed place”.
As previously reported in the Irish Examiner, he said in-cell sanitation was being installed in part of one block and that this could possibly be extended.
PEOPLE wishing to make a victim impact statement (VIS) in court cases can now access a free booklet on how to use the process to best advantage.
The Rape Crisis Network of Ireland (RCNI) yesterday announced that its guide to the VIS process would be freely available on its website.
RCNI legal director Caroline Counihan said: “Victim impact statements are an important part of the criminal justice system and they can be of benefit to victims of crime and their loved ones.
“Last year trained RCNI member advocates accompanied survivors through 24 court cases, spending over a month in courts with victims. Feedback from those clients and from advocates prompted the RCNI to compile these booklets.”
Ms Counihan said making a VIS can be empowering for victims but can also be a source of confusion and anxiety.
“We have taken great care to give accessible and accurate information explaining the purpose, content and limitations of victim impact statements,” she said.
The guides also cover aspects of court procedures, and the offences covered by the legislation on VIS, as well as the topics which may be covered by a VIS and those which should always be excluded.
- The guides can be downloaded at www.rcni.ie
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