News

The Victims’ Commissioner reacts to “alarming” inspectorate findings as it was revealed the CPS was responsible for a significant number of “serious” data security breaches of victims’ personal details.

In her response to the Independent Review of Administrative Law call for evidence, Victims’ Commissioner Dame Vera Baird QC calls on the panel to approach its task with “care and caution” and asked what steps the panel is taking to ensure claimants’ views are sought as part of the reform process.

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird QC, and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, have called on the government to provide essential funding to support victims’ services through to the end of the financial year.

As we enter lockdown conditions once more, the Victims’ Commissioner blogs on the lessons that must be learned from the Spring lockdown.

In her response to the CPS consultation on draft pre-therapy guidelines, Dame Vera Baird QC said she wanted to see "top-down cultural change" in the criminal justice system to deliver for survivors of sexual violence, who have in recent times been "severely let down".

he increase in the percentage of victims withdrawing support for a prosecution is very worrying and should be seen as part of an ongoing trend. It tells us there is falling confidence in our justice system, either to deliver justice or to do so in a timely way.

The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a uniquely dangerous time for those subjected to domestic abuse and rape, and it is vital that they can access the justice they deserve.

Crown Prosecution Service data, issued yesterday, shows a further fall in the number of charges for rape despite police referring more cases to them.

The HMCPSI report looked at the effectiveness of the CPS’s communication with victims of crime.

A survey of nearly 500 survivors of rape, undertaken by the Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC, has highlighted just 14% believed they would receive justice by reporting the crime to the police.