Annual report: Victims’ Commissioner reflects on ‘challenging’ year for victims and the criminal justice system

Download the Victims’ Commissioner’s 2023/24 annual report.

The Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, published her annual report on Thursday 10 October following its laying before Parliament.

Highlighting key milestones, such as the passing of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 in May, just before Parliament was dissolved, as well as pressing challenges such as the prisons crisis and record backlogs in the Crown Court, the annual report charts an eventful year for the Victims’ Commissioner.

“The past year has been a period of significant progress and persistent challenges,” writes Baroness Newlove, the Victims’ Commissioner. “Record-breaking Crown Court backlogs and a prison population crisis have underscored the urgent need to place victims at the heart of our criminal justice system.”

Baroness Newlove was appointed by the previous government in October 2023 to scrutinise the then Victims and Prisoners Bill as it progressed through Parliament. She made shaping the long-awaited victim legislation – promising to place victims ‘at the heart of the justice system’ – a foremost priority for her term.

The Victims’ Commissioner highlights her work with Ministers, Parliamentarians, and a wide range of stakeholders to shape and strengthen the Bill’s provisions, ultimately delivering a better deal for victims.

“While the Victims and Prisoners Bill in its original form had much to commend it,” she writes, “the consensus was clear: it needed to go further. We required a transformation in how victims are treated in our justice system, not more tinkering around the edges.”

The new Act bolsters victims’ rights while increasing scrutiny and accountability of criminal justice agencies, including the police and prosecutors. Agencies that fail to meet their obligations to victims will face being ‘named and shamed’ through new oversight and accountability measures, with the Victims’ Commissioner consulted on any such decisions.

A key concession secured by the Commissioner during the Bill’s passage was the long-fought-for right for victims of mentally disordered offenders to make a Victim Personal Statement during Mental Health Tribunal hearings, held before an offender’s release. For the first time, these victims – often bereaved family members – will have the opportunity to express the impact of the crime in their own words to the Tribunal panel.

However, in her annual report, Baroness Newlove cautions that significant issues remain unresolved, particularly for victims bereaved by murder abroad and victims of anti-social behaviour. The Victims’ Commissioner stressed that the true measure of the Act’s success will “ultimately be determined by the experiences of victims themselves.”

Seventeen years after the tragic loss of her husband, Garry Newlove, Baroness Newlove expresses her frustration that victims of persistent anti-social behaviour still face many of the same challenges she encountered, which ultimately led to her husband’s death.

In her September report, which shed light on the plight of these victims, she renewed her call for them to be formally recognised as victims of crime, receive the support they deserve, and be empowered to hold criminal justice agencies accountable.

Alongside that report, she published three additional reports, all drawing on victims’ experiences and perspectives on the criminal justice system. These included findings from the largest victim survey ever conducted by a Victims’ Commissioner, providing unprecedented insight into the challenges victims face.

In the survey, a majority of victims expressed doubts about whether reporting a crime would lead to justice, with a particularly concerning trend emerging for disabled victims. “While some victims shared positive experiences when navigating the criminal justice system – a testament to dedicated and hard-working criminal justice professionals – it’s clear that too many were left behind, often feeling frustrated and unsupported.”

The annual report comes at a time when the justice system is under immense strain, highlighted by recent measures to release prisoners early due to prison overcrowding. Meanwhile, Crown Courts are struggling with record backlogs, leading to growing delays for victims. “Justice is not being delivered in a timely or effective way, and it is victims who are paying the price,” Baroness Newlove writes. “I am concerned that these chronic and unacceptable delays are becoming entrenched in the system.”

In addition to calling for urgent action to address delays in the Crown Court, the annual report outlines several key priorities and areas of unfinished business, including the need to address privacy concerns for victims of rape and sexual assault.

As the new government pledges to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, Baroness Newlove advocates for new safeguards against intrusive requests for personal data, noting that victims and survivors continue to face intense scrutiny of their behaviour and personal lives.

Commenting on the annual report and reflecting on the past year, the Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, said:

“Returning as Victims’ Commissioner has been an honour and a privilege. The passage of the Victims and Prisoners Act onto the statute book was a milestone, and I am proud to have played a pivotal role in its development. Ultimately, the success of the Act will be measured by the experiences of victims themselves.

The justice system must listen to victims, not just talk at them. It should share information willingly and with sensitivity. It should give victims a voice, make them feel like a participant and not an onlooker. A justice system that does all of the above will help heal some of the victim’s wounds.

While new victim legislation is set to lay the foundations for better victim treatment in future, we still face significant difficulties in the here and now. The voices of victims must be at the heart of our efforts to rebuild the justice system.”

• Download the Victims’ Commissioner’s 2023/24 annual report.

Annual Report 2023-24
The report includes a number of articles outlining the Victims’ Commissioner’s key work and priorities:

• Privacy safeguards for victims of rape and sexual assault. As the new government commits to halving violence against women and girls within a decade, victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault continue to face intrusive scrutiny of their behaviour and personal history. Baroness Newlove advocates for a legislative framework to guarantee victims’ privacy, empowering them to challenge intrusive—and often routine—requests for personal materials held by third parties (‘third-party material’ – pp 15-18).
• Affording Victims’ Code rights to those bereaved by murder abroad. Each year, 60-80 UK citizens are murdered abroad, leaving bereaved families to navigate unfamiliar legal systems while coping with grief. Unlike victims of UK murders, these families lack statutory rights under the Victims’ Code and often receive only discretionary support. Baroness Newlove actively advocates for guaranteed rights for murder victims abroad (pp. 23-24).
• Improving access to court transcripts and parole summaries. Baroness Newlove stresses the importance of providing victims with access to essential information, such as court transcripts and parole hearing details, emphasizing that many struggle to recall trial details. She advocates for every victim to be able to request a free transcript of sentencing remarks, currently available only for a fee of £60 to £120 (p. 21). Additionally, she calls for a review of decision summaries from the Parole Board, which, often lack clarity and consistency (p. 25).