News

The Victims' Commissioner writes about her research on fraud and the impact it has victims, while also calling for the government to be bold and ambitious in its upcoming fraud strategy.

New Victims' Commissioner report maps out victims of fraud and suggests who criminal justice agencies and support services should prioritise. The findings come as the government is set to enhance Action Fraud with new systems and is set to publish its new fraud strategy.

Dame Vera Baird asks the Justice Secretary for guidance on which ministers will be leading key victims' work, including the Victims' Bill and Rape Review.

The Home Office needs to offer a separate strategy for developing the rights and support services for men and boys who are victims of interpersonal violence of a physical or sexual nature.

"It is the right time to listen to victims and meet their needs to enable the criminal justice system to recover, thrive and improve," says Dame Vera as she welcomes Dominic Raab into post.

Dame Vera Baird endorses HMICFRS call for urgent and fundamental cross-system change to tackle an epidemic of violence against women and girls.

Victims are losing faith in the criminal justice system according to a new survey of victims, which suggests less than half of victims would report to the police again based on their experience of the justice system.

National Road Victim Month is held annually in August to remember people that have been killed or injured on our roads. To mark the month, Dame Vera Baird blogs on the specialist support needs of road crash victims.

Responding to the report's findings, the Victims' Commissioner said: "we must not set a precedent whereby defendants are able to use the stresses of lockdown as a justification or defence for killing," as she warned agencies to be "hyper-alert to any form of 'Covid blaming.'"

"To create a system that provides real protection for victims, there needs to be better effective enforcement of breaches of bail," says Victims Commissioner as she calls for breaches of pre-charge bail to be made a criminal offence.