Plea to give crime victims right to challenge police and parole decisions

All-party group demands compensation for people who are not kept informed of developments on cases

CRIME victims must get legal rights to challenge parole and police decisions, an all-party group of MPS and Lords will demand today.

The group says that victims should have statutory rights to compensation if they are kept in the dark or denied a voice in key decisions about the perpetrator of the crime against them by police, courts or prisons.

It would be policed by the Victims’ Commissioner, who would be able to order victims be paid compensation if their legal rights to be informed about the progress of the offender through the justice system were breached.

The group, launched today, says currently victims only have an unenforceable code whereas offenders have statutory rights such as to parole.

It is demanding that the Government introduce legislation by next year that would “redress this imbalance between the perpetrator and victim”.

Victims can currently challenge a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service but the new group wants this enshrined in law and extended to include a right to review parole and police decisions not to prosecute.

Liz Saville Roberts, the group’s cochairman and Plaid Cymru MP, said: “It is time that victims really were at the centre of the criminal justice system.”

“Victims feel shut out,” said a group member, Lord Garnier, the former Tory solicitor general. “They only find out at the last minute that the man given life is out after 15 years, given parole and released into an area they live in.”

Baroness Newlove, the Victims’ Commissioner, said: “By giving victims statutory rights, it offers the opportunity to change the culture of the justice system, moving the victim from being a bystander to an integral part of the process.”

The new law would require victims of crime to receive accurate and timely information about their case from police, prosecutors and courts, at least 14 days’ notice of court or other legal proceedings, information about any previous prison sentences and any changes to the offender’s parole.

It would also introduce a duty on regulated professions working with children to notify police of any suspected child abuse, backed up by criminal sanctions for failure to do so.

It would provide for a right of appeal by victims against a decision to cease a criminal investigation, set standards for the review of open or reopened homicide cases; and ensure children and vulnerable victims and witnesses could give evidence over video link.

The Government has proposed a consultation on a new law but the campaign group say moves to introduce legislation have been dogged by delays.