NCJ Number
124997
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In the past two decades, several largely negative criminal justice policies have been implemented in the United Kingdom: the emphasis on alternatives to custody as a way to relieve pressures on the prison system, the trend toward making cautionary decisions at an administrative level, and discretionary sentencing decisions based largely on the offender's personality and family circumstances. The emergence of the Victim Support network and the Criminal Justice Act of 1988 have made some progress toward restorative justice by offering compensation and emotional assistance to crime victims.
Abstract
Victim Support works primarily with victims of traditional crime to help them restore their sense of security, provide public reassurance that crime is unacceptable, and offer a sense of solidarity with other people. Victims place the return of property or catching the offender low on the list of their priorities. However, traditional crime management stresses offender detection over victim reassurance. Government funding of Victim Support and progress toward greater concern for victims in the criminal justice system are signs that this philosophy may be changing. The further development of victim concern should be an objective of crime management equal to crime prevention and criminal justice. 14 references.