ATS2469 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Victim Impact Statement, Restorative Justice, Procedural Justice
19 Jun 2018
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The$Role$of$Victims$in$Sentencing$
The following consultation paper critically engages with the role of victims in the
criminal sentencing process. The consultation paper considers the current role victims
maintain and aims to address the general discontent within the criminal justice system. This
paper consults the questions put forth by the VLRC and attempts to put forwards
recommendations for reform. The following questions will be addressed:
a) Should victims be allowed to express in their victim impact statement an opinion
about what sentence an offender should receive?
b) Should a lawyer represent victims during sentencing hearings, who could also assist
with the preparation of their victim impact statement?
c) Should restorative justice processes be available as part of, or alternative to, the
sentencing process?
General$Problem$and$Relevant$Definitions$$
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Up!until!the!late!20th!century,!the!personal!impacts!of!crime!had!been!a!long!neglected!
issue!within!the!criminal!justice!system!(Erez!1991,!pp.1).!So!forth,!the!involvement!of!
victims!in!the!criminal!justice!process!was!severely!limited.!The!lack!of!victim!inclusion!
restricted!their!ability!to!successfully!inform!how!the!had!been!personally!affected!by!a!
crime.!This!left!many!feeling!helpless!and!ignored!by!the!criminal!justice!system.!This!
system!has!continually!failed!to!provide!a!mechanism!through!which!victims!can!voice!
their!concerns!and!feelings!towards!their!experiences!resulting!in!a!host!of!problems!for!
victims!of!crime.!According!to!various!studies,!there!is!a!high!demand!for!an!increase!in!
victim! participation! in! the! sentencing! process.! Similarly,! victims! have! a! desire! to! be!
heard! and! properly! compensated! and! are! entitled! to! have! their! views! considered!
(Shapland,!Willmore,! Duff! 1985).!!These!sentiments! have!slowly!begun!to! shift!within!
the!majority!of!jurisdictions!via!the!gradual!introduction!of!new!legislation.!
Defining'‘Victim’'
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The! definition! of! the! term! ‘victim’! is! outlined! in! section! 5! of! the! Victims! of! Crime!
Assistance!Act!2009!
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“(1)!A"victim,"is"a"person"who"has"suffered"harm"–""
a) Because"a"crime"is"committed"against"the"person;"or"
b) Because"the"person"is"a"family"member"or"dependant"of"a"person"who" has"
died"or"suffered"harm"because"a"crime"is"committed"against"that"person"or;"
c) As"a"direct"result"of"intervening"to"help"a"person"who"has"died"or"suffered"
harm"because"a"crime"is"committed"against"that"person."
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Furthermore,! a! victim! can! be! defined! as! any! person! or! body! who! has! suffered! injury,!
loss!or!damage!(including!grief!and!distress)!as!the!direct!result!of!an!offence!whether!
or!not!that!damage!was!reasonably!foreseeable!by!the!offender.!
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(A)$Victim$Impact$Statements$and$The$Role$In$Sentencing$
Victim'Impact'Statements'
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Several! avenues! of! victim! integration! in! to! the! criminal! justice! process! have! been!
adopted! in! overseas! legislations.! In! the! USA! and! some! parts! of! Canada,! this! has! been!
introduced!through!the!use!of!victim!impact!statements.!Victim!impact!statements!are!
written!or!oral!statements!that!enable!victims!to!provide!insight!into!the!way!in!which!
the!crime!has!personally!caused!them!impact!(ANU).!!Such!statements!are!presented!to!
the!judge!for!consideration!during!sentencing!and!are!not!merely!avenues!of!emotional!
expression,!but!hold!significant!legal!weight!in!the!sentencing!decisions.!Many!contend!
that!these!statements!have!empowered!victims!in!a!manner!previously!unachievable!by!
the!criminal!justice!system.!According!to!section!15!of!the!Victims!of!Crime!Assistance!
Act! 2009! ‘a"victim"of"an"offence"is"to"be"permitted"to"give"the"prosecutor"for"the"offence"
details"of"the"harm"caused"to"the"victim"of"that"offence,"for"the"purpose"of"informing"the"
relevant"sentencing"court’."Australian!legislation!allows!these!details!to!be!given!through!
victim!impact!statements,!allowing!victims!to!actively!engage!with!the!criminal!justice!
process.!!Victims!are!allowed!to!include!photographs,!drawing!and!any!other!material!
relevant! to! injury,! loss! or! damage! experiences! including! any! medical!
reports/documents! (Sentencing" Act" 1991!(Vic)! s! 8L(1)).! In! most! cases! the! primary!
victim!completes!the!victim!impact!statement,!although!a!parent,!relative!or!partner!can!
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also!complete!it.!!Victims!are!also!provided!with!the!option!to!present!their!own!victim!
impact!statement,!or!appoint!someone!else!to!read!it!on!their!behalf.!!
Should' victims' be' allowed' to' express' in' their' victim' impact' statement' an' opinion' about'
what'sentence'an'offender'should'receive?''
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When! determining! a! sentence,! the! judge! consults! the! content! of! a! victim! impact!
statement.! Ultimately,! victim! impact! statements! provide! a! platform! for! victims! to!
communicate!the!extent!of!the!effect!of!the!crime/s!however!only!plays!a!small!part!in!
the! sentencing! decision.! In! Queensland,! the! Penalties" and" Sentences" Act" (1992)" states!
that! a! judge! must! consider! a! number! of! factors! when! determining! an! appropriate!
sentence,!including;!
a) The!seriousness!of!the!crime;!
b) Past!convictions!of!the!defendant;!
c) The!defendants!cooperation!with!authorities!and!
d) Issues!regarding!community!safety!and!deterrence.!
A!key!question!that!we!must!engage!with!is!whether!or!not!victims!should!be!allowed!to!
express!their!opinion!relevant!to!the!offender’s!sentence.!In!Australia,!each!jurisdiction!
follows!a!sentencing!framework!relevant!to!their!state!legislation.!Such!statues!contain!
the!purpose!and!aims!of!sentencing,!aggravating!and!mitigating!factors!that!should!be!
considered!and!the!types!of!sentences!that!may!be!imposed!(Edney!and!Bagaric,!2007).!
These! sentencing! statutes! provide! general! guidance! and! Australian! judges! maintain!
broad!sentencing!discretion.!The!application!of!these!guidelines!in!Australian!legislation!
allows! judges! to! provide! appropriate,! consistent! and! relative! sentences! while! striving!
for! individual! justice! (Spigelman! 1999).! The! seriousness! of! crimes! and! information!
regarding! prior! convictions! can! be! presented! in! the! form! of! facts,! documents! and!
testimony! therefore! allowing! victims! to! express! their! sentencing! opinion! is! not! a!
necessary! part! of! a! victim! impact! statement.! ! In! most! cases,! victims! lack! sufficient!
knowledge!regarding!the!law!and!corresponding!penalties!and!therefore!cannot!provide!
an! accurate! recommendation! for! sentencing.! Insufficient! knowledge! often! results! in! a!
calling! for! outcomes! severely! disproportionate! to! the! nature! of! the! crime! itself.! The!
primary!principles!of!sentencing!conclude!that!a!sentence!must!be!proportionate!with!
the!gravity!of!the!crime!and!an!uneducated!call!for!punishment!does!not!align!with!this.!
While!victim!impacts!statements!may!provide!insight!regarding!the!serious!of!the!crime!
