Restorative justice Contents

4The Victims’ Code and the Victims’ Law

Entitlements under the Victims’ Code

67.The majority of witnesses to our inquiry suggested that the entitlements to restorative justice needed to be strengthened, either under the Code or through the expected Victims’ Law. The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners noted there was a disconnect between the Ministry of Justice’s vision of good quality restorative justice being available at every stage of the criminal justice system and the entitlements under the Victims’ Code. They also referred to the discrepancy between the entitlements in the adult system compared to the youth system.164 Jon Collins similarly questioned why the entitlements under the Victims’ Code differed depending on the age of the offender.165

68.In our view, there is no good reason for entitlements under the Victims’ Code being of differing strength depending on the age of the offender, as is the case now, with entitlements for victims of youth offenders being stronger. We recommend that the Ministry strengthen the entitlements of victims of adult offenders under the Victims’ Code so they are equal to that of victims of youth offenders.

69.Some witnesses advocated the entitlements under the Victims’ Code be strengthened in a variety of ways. The Restorative Justice Council argued that victims should, initially through the Victims’ Code, have an entitlement to access restorative justice.166 Thames Valley felt an onus needed to be placed on Police and Crime Commissioners to deliver restorative justice services.167 The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, while not in favour of creating statutory rights, felt there was a case for “rethinking” the entitlements under the Victims’ Code and strengthening them.168

The Victims’ Law

70.The 2016 Queen’s Speech confirmed an intention, first set out in the 2015 Queen’s Speech, to pass legislation to “increase the rights of victims of crime.”169 The Government had intended to publish a green paper on the Victims’ Law for May 2016 but has missed that deadline.170 The Minister committed himself in evidence to us to “publish it as soon as I possibly can”171 but refused to indicate what proposals might be included in the consultation.172 In a debate in the House of Commons on 6 July, the Minister pledged to “publish a Green Paper on a victims’ law before the summer recess”.173 We would welcome publications by that time, although when we agreed our report it had not been published. Several witnesses to our inquiry suggested that there should be a legislative right to access restorative justice services. Lucy Jaffe felt that such provision would give victims’ entitlements “more weight”.174 Ben Byrne of Surrey County Council argued that a right to restorative justice under legislation would ensure victims knew they had a right to restorative justice, “whatever their particular politics or PCC at that time.”175 The APCC Standing Group on Supporting Victims and Reducing Harm however were sceptical of the value of there being a legal right to restorative justice. In particular, they questioned how such a right would be enforced, what liability would arise from breaches of such entitlements and the potential cost of monitoring compliance.176 Brian Dowling was also unconvinced. He believed that the restorative justice sector did not presently have the capacity to deliver restorative justice services to all victims of crime and that providing an entitlement, either under the Code or through legislation, was untenable and would require service providers to have at least 2-3 years notice and ring-fenced funding.177

71.It was suggested to us that it was important to give proper consideration to the enforcement of any rights for victims. Dr Gavrielidies asked “what are we doing to empower the individual themselves to request and demand those rights?”178 The Restorative Justice Council argued that the Victims’ Commissioner should have powers to adjudicate on disputes arising from the Victims’ Code and any future Victims’ Law.179 Vera Baird QC cautioned against creation of a legislative right to restorative justice, citing issues around enforcement. In particular she voiced opposition to the Victims’ Commissioner having a role in adjudicating on such matters.180 The Minister stated that there “There is no point in having laws that are not enforced.”181

72.We are convinced that there is value in strengthening the existing entitlements under the Victims’ Code. In particular we find the proposal of providing an entitlement to restorative justice an attractive one. On the other hand we have already pointed out concerns about the capacity of the system to provide restorative justice services, particularly for certain types of offences. The Ministry should consult Police and Crime Commissioners and other stakeholders to assess capacity within the system and whether it is feasible to provide an entitlement under the Code for victims to access restorative justice services, with a corresponding duty on PCCs to provide those services. Depending on the results of that assessment, it might be prudent to exclude certain categories of offences from that entitlement, with an intention to include them in due course.

73.Because of the issues of capacity we have already set out, we believe it is too soon to introduce a legislative right for victims to access restorative justice services, but we believe such a goal is laudable and should be actively worked towards. The Ministry should, in its consultation on the Victims’ Law, seek views on a legislative right to restorative justice and how such a right would be enforced. Our view is that the Victims’ Law should include a provision for victims to have a legislative right to access restorative justice services but this should not come into force immediately. Instead it should be a Commencement Order, which should be brought by a Minister only once he or she has demonstrated to Parliament that the system has sufficient capacity to provide restorative justice services to all victims.