Victims Advisory Board - Report on Activities 2004/2005
1. Background
The Victims Advisory Board was established under the Victims Rights Act 1996 to:
1. Advise the Attorney General on policies, practices and reforms relating to victims compensation and support services;
2. Consult victims of crime, community victim support groups and government agencies on issues and policies concerning victims of crime; and
3. Promote legislative, administrative or other reforms to meet the needs of victims of crime.
The Board first met in November 1997 and meets every two months. Terms of Reference and an Operational Protocol were developed early in 1998 to direct and guide the work of the Board including a protocol for responding to correspondence and the media.
2. Membership of the Board
The Board comprises representatives from community and government agencies that deliver services to victims of crime. Mr Bill Grant, Chief Executive Officer of the Legal Aid Commission of New South Wales was Chairperson of the Board during 2004/2005.
The Board comprised the following members:
· Bill Grant, Chairperson
· Martha Jabour, Homicide Victims Support Group (Aust) Inc.
· Howard Brown, Victims of Crime Assistance League (VOCAL)
· Ken Marslew, Enough is Enough Anti Violence Movement Inc.
· Janis Redford, Mission Australia
· Peter Parsons, NSW Police Service
· Jo Spangaro, NSW Health Department
· Philip Dart, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
· John Le Breton, Victims Services, Attorney General’s Department
The following were approved deputies to members of the Board:
· Paul Jones, NSW Police Service
· Marianne Curtis, Victims Services
· Rosemary Pendlebury, NSW Health Department
· Helen Lunn, Mission Australia
Ms Janis Redford from Mission Australia, and her deputy, Ms Helen Lunn, resigned from the Board in October, 2004 and there is currently a vacancy for a community member.
3. Work of the Victims Advisory Board during 2004/2005
3.1. Advising the Attorney General on policies, practices and reforms relating to victims compensation and support services
Issues
The Victims Advisory Board prepared submissions on a number of issues that concerned victims of crime and forwarded these to the appropriate authority. Issues raised included:
· Improper questioning of sexual assault complainants during cross-examination, including:
o being asked the same question repeatedly
o behavioural questions, such as their drinking and social habits
o questions about the way they dressed and others relating to the victim’s responsibility for the assault
The Board emphasised that the questioning of a sexual assault complainant should be in accordance to the Charter of Victims Rights, and “a victim should be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for the victim’s rights and dignity.”
· The Board recommended amending section 91(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 to allow the statement of a witness directed to attend to give oral evidence at committal proceedings to be admissible as the evidence in chief of that witness in certain circumstances. One of the Board’s concerns was that the witness (who may be the victim in the proceedings) is subjected to a memory test, which adds to the stress and trauma of giving evidence.
· The Board made submissions regarding the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) process and the impact it may have on victims of crime. Issues raised included:
o In a number of matters there is a lengthy period of time from the conclusion of the CCA hearing and the date the reserved judgment is handed down
o The short notice given for the handing down of a reserved judgment makes it difficult for victims to organise travel, support and accommodation to attend the court
o Victims do not receive assistance towards their travel expenses in order to attend a CCA hearing
o Victims are experiencing uncertainty in relation to the Notice of Intention to Appeal.
· The Board has made submissions regarding the lack of sponsors for serious offenders who are becoming eligible for leave, such as weekend leave and escorted leave.
3.2 Consulting victims of crime, community victim support groups and government agencies on issues and policies concerning victims of crime
Throughout the year Board members discussed during their regular meetings, and followed up where necessary, issues and concerns they were aware of through their work with victims of crime. These discussions included:
· The handling of complaints under the Charter of Victims Rights by the Victims of Crime Bureau
· The progress of implementing Victim Impact Statements in the Local Court
· Changes to the operation of the Victims Support Line
· Funding for community groups assisting victims of crime
· Development of an online guide to assist victims of crime to complete their application form for compensation
· The possibility of trained forensic nurses undertaking the forensic examination of adult sexual assault victims
· The need for victims to be reimbursed for expenses, such as the cost of attending court to give a Victim Impact Statement
· The high number of offenders who did not have legal representation and who are imprisoned
Guest speakers
Throughout the year a number of speakers have been invited to attend the Board meetings to share their in-depth knowledge on victims issues and discuss current issues affecting victims of crime.
The guest speakers for 2004/2005 included:
· Ms Jenny Bargen, Director of Youth Justice Conferencing, who discussed with the Board the achievements and concerns regarding juvenile offenders, including:
o The Report on the Review of the Young Offenders Act 1997
o Improvements to the data recording system used by Youth Conferencing
o Numbers of juveniles in custody
o Examples of excellent police work with young offenders
o The successful operation of the Legal Aid Youth Hotline and the Aboriginal Youth Hotline
· Mr John Feneley, Assistant Director General, Policy and Crime Prevention, Attorney General’s Department of NSW and Mr Steve O’Connor of Legal Aid, who discussed with the Board the introduction of reforms regarding the management and processing of indictable cases in the Local Court.
3.3 Promoting legislative, administrative or other reforms to meet the needs of victims of crime.
Legislative issues
Relevant and recent legislation was regularly reported to the Board through the distribution of the Weekly Legislative Bulletin from the NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office to members of the Board.
The Board also made comments and submissions on legislation being developed and reviewed, including:
· Majority Verdicts: The Board supported the introduction of majority verdicts in all criminal trials. The Board members also offered the following preliminary thoughts regarding some specific issues that were distributed for comment, including:
o majority verdicts should be available for both acquittal and conviction
o majority verdicts should be applied across all offences
o there should be a minimum deliberation time
· The Board submitted comments on the review of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 and the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Standard Minimum Sentencing) Act 2002, including:
o Extending the definition of a family victim who can give a victim impact statement to such family members as grandparents, grandchildren and uncles. This would be beneficial to communities where extended families are common, such as indigenous communities.
o The need to clarify how many family members can make a victim impact statement.
· The Board made submissions on the inadequacy of the definition of a serious offender in relation to the discussion paper: Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Amendment Act 2002 and the Summary Offences Amendment (Places of Detention) Act 2002.
Of Special Interest
The Board has a number of standing items on the meeting agendas in areas of particular concern and interest to Board members. The standing items for 2004/05 included:
· Victim Impact Statements
· DNA Review Panel (formally known as the Innocence Panel)
· Sentencing Council
· Double Jeopardy
· Review of the Mental Health Act
· Sexual Assault Taskforce
Victims of Crime website
The Victims of Crime website (www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/voc) was an initiative of the Victims Advisory Board in 2001/2000 and provides a one-stop on-line source of support and information for victims of crime. It gives practical details on many topics including police and court processes, counselling and support services, obtaining legal redress and compensation, domestic violence and sexual assault, obtaining protection from offenders and victims' rights. The Victims of Crime website was redesigned as part of the general redesign of Lawlink websites. All web pages were thoroughly reviewed for accuracy and relevancy and the layout of the website was changed to improve navigation by users.
New information and links added during 2004/05 include links to interstate and overseas agencies assisting victims of crime, domestic violence assistance for victims from a non-English speaking background and those experiencing same sex domestic violence and support for Aboriginal victims of crime.
The website is part of Lawlink, the online government portal website to law and justice agencies and services in New South Wales. The site is hosted by the NSW Attorney General’s Department and recently software was purchased by the Department to show details about the usage of the Lawlink websites. For example, in the month of June 2004 there were 4,935 page views of the VOC website and this included 1,757 new user sessions. The ten most requested pages were:
1. Homepage
2. Sexual Assault
3. Compensation
4. Domestic Violence
5. Victims Rights
6. Victims Impact Statements
7. Legal & Court
8. Meeting Victims Needs
9. Road Trauma
10. Victims Services in Queensland
The most downloaded file was the Access to Court Documents information sheet.
Visitors to the VOC website were referred by the following top referring hosts:
1. www.google.com.au
2. www.google.com
3. www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au
4. www.google.co.uk
5. www.google.ca
6. www.nsw.gov.au
The above snapshot of the use of the Victims of Crime website shows that information is being accessed across a wide range of topics and the website is easily accessible through general Google search engines as well as government portals.
4. Plans for 2005/2006
During 2005/2006 the Victims Advisory Board will continue to respond appropriately to victims issues as and when they are identified by members or are referred to the Board for comment. Relevant departments will be encouraged to refer any proposed legislative changes that may affect victims of crime to the Board for comment.
The Board plans to further enhance the Victims of Crime website and promote closer liaison between government departments, community organisations and other agencies in responding to the needs of victims of crime.
The Board will continue to provide advice to Victims Services in its service delivery and coordination roles on behalf of victims of crime.
The Victims Advisory Board would like to thank the outgoing Board members for their valuable contributions and the Board looks forward to continuing to support victims of crime.
Victims Advisory Board 2
Report on Activities 2004-05