NCJ Number
196581
Date Published
2000
Length
41 pages
Annotation
This Victims Charter and guide to the criminal justice system of Ireland describes all the elements of the rights and services for crime victims within the Irish criminal justice system.
Abstract
The Charter specifies the levels and standards of treatment that crime victims can reasonably expect, as well as the complaint procedures available should these standards not be met. The Charter advises, however, that it is intended as a guide only and does not purport either to interpret the legislation to which it refers or to confer legal rights. The Charter is arranged in seven sections and includes statements from the Gardai (police), the courts, the Prison Service, the Probation and Welfare Service, the State Prosecution Service, Victim Support, and the Coroner Service. For each of these criminal justice components, there is a description of the role of the service, a statement of what a crime victim can expect from the service, and the complaint procedures in place. Regarding the Gardai (police), they are trained to treat crime victims with dignity, and they are continuously developing and refining their awareness and understanding of crime victim expectations, needs, and entitlements. The courts are committed to relieving the stress of criminal proceedings on participating crime victims and ensuring that their participation in case processing is constructive, while protecting them from intimidation. The Prison Service is committed to ensuring that its services do not put victims at risk of revictimization while the offender is under its jurisdiction and to informing victims about any correctional decisions likely to impact them, as well as providing appropriate input for those decisions. The Probation and Welfare Service takes into account victim impacts in its work and focuses on modifying offender behaviors that may place victims at risk. The State Prosecution Service seeks to involve victims in decisionmaking pertinent to case processing and consider victim impacts in the management of the case from beginning to end. The Victim Support Charter is a community-based organization with nearly 500 trained volunteers and a small number of professional staff dedicated to providing emotional and practical support to victims of crime; it also provides information about victims rights, represents victims' interests in the formation of social and criminal policy, and raises public awareness about victim issues. Although not directly part of the criminal justice system, the Coroner Service becomes involved with victim issues associated with sudden, unexplained, violent, or unnatural deaths. Other sections of this Charter provide a summary of recent legal provisions, victim compensation, and contact-person/organization addresses and telephone numbers.