A bill of rights for victims of crime in 2013 must learn from the strengths, weaknesses and gaps of pioneering legislation and programs across the world. It must identify what official will take specific actions to ensure services, reparation and justice for victims of crime as well as effective pre-crime prevention. It must be supported by funding and scientific evaluations of progress. It must cover the check list that every legislator should have in the front of their mind when championing issues for crime victims.
“Safety is the first of our civil rights, and freedom from violence is the first of our freedoms.”—Connie Rice, Civil Rights Lawyer. This must be central to any set of rights for victims of crime and fortunately effective pre-crime prevention investments would enable the reinvestments towards meeting other rights of victims from criminal justice services that respond to crime by efforts to deter, catch, convict and incarcerate offenders.
The Canadian federal government and both major political parties in the UK want to better meet the needs of victims of crime by adopting legislation for crime victims. Canada and the UK have an opportunity to establish a bill of rights which will be a model for the world on services, reparation and justice for victims. It must guarantee the most cost effective pre-crime prevention. It must use independent surveys and research to assess progress in its implementation. It must include adequate funding – including reinvestment from reactive and ineffective ways to respond to victims – that goes beyond modest amounts that will be raised from a victim fine surcharge on common offenders.
As affluent democracies, Canada and UK must act to improve the situation for victims so that their laws and services are consistent with:
- the UN GA resolution in 1985 that called for effective crime prevention and the implementation of basic principles of justice for victims;
- the effectiveness across many countries of the European Union directive and the leading legislation in the USA, including States analysed for legislators in chapter 6 of Rights for Victims of Crime;
- the best knowledge on effective and cost effective pre-crime prevention, such as the US Department of Justice on crime solutions and integrated crime prevention such as Action Briefs for Municipal Stakeholders.
. In 2014, a new book provides legislators with this scientific knowledge organized around areas where they can act. This proposal for Smarter Crime Control can reduce violence on our street, in our homes and on our highways by 50% or more (while saving taxpayers billions).
A Bill of Rights for victims can achieve this, if the rights are
- specific and understandable to ordinary Canadians,
- active in specifying who (eg police, prosecutor, judge, nurse, mayor etc.)is responsible for implementing them,
- funded at levels similar to leading US States and EU countries,
- written to meet at least the special needs of children, women, Aboriginal Peoples, disabled,
- supported by mechanisms to foster implementation (eg an Office for Victims of Crime) and assess progress (eg modern surveys of victims, as proposed in Waller 2010 and by McMurtry) as well as Ombudspersons for victim issues for particular issues and further systemic improvments,
- accompanied by reinvestment in the most cost effective ways to prevent violence.
Canada needs a bill of rights for victims in consultation with the provinces and territories that specifies for Canada the following:
- Right to recognition of harm to victims,
- Right to information about services and processes,
- Right to availability of assistance and support,
- Right to reparation from restitution for all crimes and from state compensation for injury,
- Right to protection as a witness and victim,
- Right to participation and representation in criminal justice,
- Right to effective policies to prevent victimization,
- Right to full implementation and assessment of progress in meeting the needs of victims.
A detailed text of what these rights might look like was developed for a draft UN convention in 2007. A version that would be useable by Canada or in US States is set out in Appendix A of Waller, Irvin Rights for Victims of Crime: Rebalancing Justice.
In Canada, a key to implementation is the provision of funding to ensure a reinvestment in public safety – effective pre-crime prevention – and the provision of basic services from coast to coast to coast. So the collaboration with the provinces must include an agreement on sustained funding for both services and rights for victims as well as effective pre-crime prevention (going beyond modest sums from fine surcharges on common individual offenders).
