Crime Victims and Sentencing

Incorporation of victim participation in the sentencing process through a victim impact statement ('VIS') has been a prominent feature of penal policy in Australian jurisdictions for more than two decades. VISs are mechanisms designed to provide victims with a voice in the hearing and space in which to express their feelings about the impact of the crime. While research suggests that VISs have generally had little impact on sentencing outcomes or patterns more generally, VISs remain a contentious feature of contemporary criminal justice. In particular, the integration of victims in courtroom proceedings is emerging as a challenging issue for the court. Questions are raised about the role of VISs in an adversarial legal framework and the requirement of fairness in the conduct of the proceedings. Fairness is a 'core value in the administration of justice' and is usually associated with the defendant's right to a fair hearing. Nonetheless, the High Court has made it clear that the requirement extends to the interests of all parties to the matter as well as to victims and the community at large

Adversarial system · Criminal justice · Criminology · Economic Justice · Political science · Value (mathematics · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Criminal Law and Evidence · Law · Psychology

• Accommodating the Expressive Function of Victim Impact Statements

  Open Access•Tracey Booth, Alice Kirsten Bosma et al.•The British Journal of Criminology•2018

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• Integrating a Victim Perspective within Criminal Justice

  Adam Crawford, Jo Goodey•Integrating a Victim Perspective…•2019

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