Less than half of victims of serious crimes have faith in New Zealand's justice system, with even fewer feeling justice had been served, a new study has found.
Research by Victim Support, which included in-depth interviews with victims, showed only 32 per cent felt justice had been served and 41 per cent had faith in the justice system. This was despite 86 per cent of research participants’ cases resulting in a guilty verdict for the offender, and 52 per cent resulting in imprisonment.
It comes after the Strengthening the Criminal Justice System for Victims survey earlier in the month painted a similar picture, with the majority of respondents reported a negative experience going through the justice system.
The key message from Victim Support’s research - Victims’ Voices: The Justice Needs and Experiences of New Zealand Serious Crime Victims - was that victims needed to feel they genuinely mattered, Researcher Dr Petrina Hargrave said.
"We can’t assume justice has been served just because an offender has been found guilty or a hefty sentence has been handed down," she said.
Dr Kim McGregor discussed recommended changes to New Zealand’s criminal justice system. (Source: Other)
"Justice for victims is just as much about how an outcome is reached as it is about the outcome itself."
Ms Hargrave said many victims felt they lacked opportunity to tell their stories, be heard and have the impact of the crime acknowledged. They also felt they were unable to express true impact of the crime in their victim impact statements because of restrictive court processes.
"If victims lack trust and confidence in the justice system, they are less likely to report crime, so victims’ experience of the justice system is absolutely critical for crime prevention," Ms Hargrave said.
"Whatever reforms are made to our justice system, we have to get the basics right first. The starting point has to be a commitment to understanding victims’ needs and what justice means to them.
"The bare minimum requirement of a justice system must be that the public has faith in it to protect them and to deliver justice."
They study did find that most victims were highly satisfied with the support they were offered from individuals and support agencies, but there was a need of more support from the justice system as a whole.
Paulette Benton-Greig from The University of Waikato suggests improvements on TVNZ1’s Breakfast. (Source: Other)
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