An Act of the Scottish Parliament to amend the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 in various respects; to make provision about mental health disposals in criminal cases; to make provision as to the rights of victims of crime committed by mentally-disordered persons; and for connected purposes.
Research that aims to review the existing evidence and practice surrounding victims' support needs, outcome measurement and quality assurance in the victim support sector, to assess:
The Scottish Government’s Making Justice Work Programme represents the most significant set of reforms to courts for more than a century. A central objective of the programme is to improve the experience of victims and witnesses, and a commitment has been made to to bring forward a Victims and Witnesses Bill during this Parliament.
Report that outlines findings of research conducted by Natcen Social Research on victim/survivor and public attitudes to sentencing sexual offences.
Report of the Chief Inspectors of Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) into the treatment of young victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system (CJS). It has been undertaken as part of the criminal justice Chief Inspectors’ joint inspection programme for 2010-11.
Document that explores the issues around what makes accommodation safe for child victims of trafficking. ECPAT UK undertook structured face-to-face interviews and a roundtable discussion with a range of professionals, including local authority children’s services, the police, NGOs and organisations accommodating child victims of trafficking, as well as ascertaining the views of the young people themselves. This led to the formulation of 10 child-centred principles concerning the provision of safe accommodation for child victims and/or suspected child victims of trafficking.
Audit that looks at the performance of the principal justice agencies through the eyes of the victims and witnesses who use them.
There are many aspects of our justice system that are very positive – for example, the fall in crime and anxiety, and rise in public confidence – but this audit shows that despite these changes, victims and witnesses are still not treated as well as they should be.
The strategic narrative on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) published in November 2010 announced that a review of MARACs would be undertaken in order to improve understanding of how MARACs are working and potential areas of development, including considering the case for putting MARACs on a statutory basis. The report presents the key findings of that review.
This thematic assessment was undertaken with four principle objectives:
1. Assess the size and scale of ‘localised grooming’ in proportion to the overall known picture of sexual exploitation
of children under the age of 18 in the UK
2. Establish any patterns of offending profile or victim experience
3. Assess the effectiveness of processes which might help identify such offending or potential victims
4. Recommend action to be taken to reduce the risk in future, including any urgent action that becomes apparent.
Report which shows that despite the work of many police services to learn from failings as regards hate crime, people with a learning disability are still not always getting the level of service they are entitled to from the police.