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Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime, Geraldine Hanna, welcomes this Follow-Up Review on the care and treatment of victims and witnesses by the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. The CJI report comes more than three years after the initial inspection report1 on this issue and represents a reasonable timeframe around which significant implementation of recommendations for improvements could be expected. While the Commissioner Designate recognises the efforts and progress made, she is disappointed overall that we are not further forward with full implementation of these recommendations.
The Commissioner Designate is particularly frustrated at the lack of progress in the development of a needs assessment service within the Victim and Witness Care Unit. The Inspectors found that whilst a proposal paper was accepted in principle, progress stalled due to lack of budget availability.
Speaking on the release of the report, Ms Hanna noted: "Needs assessment, tailored information and independent advocacy are the key building blocks of victim care. The development of a needs assessment service for all victims of crime is a key plank in meeting the needs of victims and resolving potential problems earlier in the process."
The review highlights that agencies have moved forward alone in progressing certain areas and the risks this fragmented approach poses. The Commissioner Designate is concerned that a lack of collective ownership and responsibility for performance across the system can foster a siloed approach to progress leaving victims to pay the price.
Ms Hanna added: "it should not be the responsibility of victims to find a way to navigate this journey, but rather the system needs to better coordinate and collaborate to ensure the victim journey is seamless."
In light of the review’s findings, the Commissioner Designate would urge the Criminal Justice Board to review their role and identify how they can ensure greater accountability and collective oversight of the system’s delivery of outcomes for victims of crime.
Finally, the challenges and impact of Covid-19, alongside the issue of budgets and resource constraints, come through strongly in the review as reasons for a lack of progress in certain areas of criminal justice. While the Commissioner Designate appreciates the impact of the pandemic on the workload facing the system, the experiences of victims and witnesses of crime have been compounded by Covid-19 but not created by it. She recognises the impact of austerity and lack of government on the budget provision and it is clear throughout the assessment of each recommendation that budget and resources has impacted on delivery. Even those recommendations that have been assessed as achieved are dependent on continued resources in order to be sustained.
Commenting on this, the Commissioner Designate stated: "The failure to adequately resource and reform justice in the past is borne out throughout this report and poses significant challenge in addressing, not just the weaknesses highlighted in this report, but also the aims and objectives outlined in the Victim and Witness Strategy. If we are serious about our aim to ensure victims are more central in the process then we must prioritise the resources to support them."