Debate on Victims Rights in Criminal Justice System

Debate on Victims Rights in felonious Justice SystemWe need to re balance the administration so that it features real judge for victims and the wider residential argona (David Blunkett, 2002). Critically assess the menstruation debate regarding victims rights.INTRODUCTIONCMS Funding was announced in June 1999 to streamline the unlawful legal expert organisation(Chief Secretary, Alan Milburn, www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom, 1999), with a ministerial Priority on Policing established (Rt Hon. Jack stubble, http//news.bbc.co.uk, 1999, March, 25). Following the publication of the Auld Report (www. vile-courts-review.org.uk, 2001, September) a Government White Paper was published advocating a join up system, echoing the joined up Government in action approach promoted by the floor Secretary in 1999 (Rt Hon. Jack Straw http//news.bbc.co.uk, 1999, March, 25). The remit of this White Paper was to identify a clear focus on fighting and reducing crime(Justice for altogether, HMSO, http//www.cjsonline.gov.uk, 2002, July).The rule of law should represent the noble-minded of a universal goodness exhibiting no negative impact on any given society, and no negative characteristics that could apply to its nature, likening it to Benthams good in-and-of-itself according to Thompson (Thompson, 1975, Page 266). Unfortunately, it appears to be this concept that has swung too far in the favour of societys miscreants to the detriment of their victims and the communities in which these offenders live, prompting the menstruation debate on victims rights and David Blunketts intentions to re-address the balance to deliver real legal expert to victims and the wider community (Blunkett www. constabularysupers.com/police, 2002, July).DISCUSSIONWhilst all people might be considered passable according to classicist precepts, with governments created by those individuals to protect the peoples rights finished the recognition of a social contract (McCoubrey and White, 1999, Pag e 60 84), David Blunkett singles prohibited a specific sector of society by suggesting thatnearly three quarters of street crime offenders are under 17 and a punishing core five per cent of juveniles are responsible for 60 per cent of offences for their age group (Blunkett, www.publications.parliament.uk, 2002, November, 14)Clearly, despite the introduction of innumerable projects designed to re-integrate offenders back into their communities, the step-up in lawless behaviour has not diminished. Many measures to restrain unacceptable behaviour are now available, amongst which are Youth Offending Teams, Final archetype Schemes, Detention and Training Orders, Acceptable Behaviour Programmes, Parenting Orders, Reparation Orders and Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (Blunkett, www.publications.parliament.uk, 2002, November, 14) although, retrospectively, little appears to do improved.In December 2003 Lord Falconer of Thoroton emphasised that thiscrime and anti-social behaviour corrupt s communities, eating away at the fabric of the way we all want to live our lives(Lord Falconer, www.dca.gov.uk2003, December 3).An increasing lack of morality appears to be more universal within modern society, with Chief Superintendent of Greater Manchester Police describing these amoral youths as feral (The Times Newspaper, 2005, May, 18). Despite all the legislation at the disposal of the criminal justice system, however, the yob culture appears to be endemic, with the penetrable in society more at risk of becoming victims than ever before.The media report lurid headlines on a daily basis Beaten to death on his doorstep ( perfunctory Mail, 2005, May 21) Beaten up on Video Phone (Daily Mail, 20/05/05) Hoody blackball eases shoppers fear (Daily Mail, 20/05/05, page 8). The edition on May 19th 2005 reported how thugs attack a funeral car by launching an 8 founding length of wood through the windscreen of the car travelling immediately behind the hearse. It has been reported tha t some forces are not making good practise of legislation and tackling the imitation firearm problem (Green, Deputy Chief Constable, Greater Manchester in Daily Mail, 20/05/05, Page 8) when children, some as young as 13, routinely carry replica BB guns, which depose cause serious injury to tar thwarts up to 30 yards away, around the streets.In 2002 the Home Secretary intendedto deliver real justice to victims and the wider community and strike a fair balance between the rights of victims and the accused(Blunkett, www.policesupers.com, July 17).Evidence of this can be seen in the introduction of enigma Orientated Policing which incorporates community initiatives, together with a number of other stakeholders within the criminal justice system and aims to introduce additional improvements to the youth justice system and establish more effective justice for victims and the wider community through more effective punishment and rehabilitation...(Leigh, Read and Tilley, 1996).Protecting the community should be at the spunk of a stable and civilised society and these changes to the criminal justice system should be in accordance to societys needfully and expectations (Lord Chancellor, www.policesupers.com, 2002, July, 17). An example of which can be seen in South Africa which incorporates the ethos of corrective justice known as Zwelethemba with the essence of maintaining peace in the community (Roche, 2004 85). Money received from this programme is contributed back into the community to reduce poverty and unemployment and attempt to remove the need for draconian repressive measures (Roche, 2004 231).Blakemore suggests that social policy should evaluate how policies impact on peoples lives (Blakemore, 1998 5). Acceptable behaviour is compel through law and morality which is maintained through rules and principles the cement of society (Devlin cited in Elliott and Quinn, 1998 449). This cement illustrates legal moralism that has been identified as socially signi ficant (Cotterrell, 1989 1), providing an abridgment of laws conceptual structures (1989, Page 3) and emphasising the importance of shared values, ultimately influencing individuals behaviour (Pampel, 2000 57) a decline, as the result of organic solidarity differentiating collective conscience, creating an environment for an join on in crime. This philosophy of inter-related support has been recognised as structural functionalism which, taken to extremes, acknowledges that poverty and crime are normal and natural functions within any florid society (Pampel, 2000, Page 75).The Legal Action Group, meanwhile, suggest that victims and defendants rights are mutually incompatible (Cape, 2004) and suggest that victims rights are not being catered for their rights are neither admit nor respected. However, they also ascertain that, in making it easier to convict defendants is not in the best interests of the victims. The fragility between rights to security and freedom and the obligation to protect communities, reflects a natural result of shared morality without which rules would lack meaning (Pampel, 2000, Page 67). This factor was clearly recognised by David Blunkett who acknowledged the public felt that the system had swung too far in favour of the accused (Criminal Justice Conference, www.cjsonline.org.uk, 2002, June, 19).However, this intensely deep-rooted problem of lawlessness within communities cannot be solved by the police alone. Henham observes that this can only be achieved throughdisregard of formal legal controls which prove an obstacle to the production of a high conviction rate although he acknowledges that due process maintains an adherence to courtroom procedure and protection of the individual (Henham, 1998, Page 592).Pampel observes that the problems of society become most visible when change occurs, and recent decades have brought immense social and economic changes (Pampel, 2000 52). Durkheim, meanwhile, noted that society works best when it e xercises control over individuals (Pampel, 2000 72). Laws are intended to regulate relationships with the result that conflict is avoided, enable government and education to progress.With the intention of better justice through more consistent sentencing, the White Paper preceding the Criminal Justice Act 1991 suggested that convicted criminals get their just deserts (HMSO, 1990, Cm 965 Worrall, 1995). Restorative justice, however, is identified through mediation, conferencing, circles and reparative boards such as the utilisation of victim/offender mediation with the intention of reconciliation as opposed to merely conciliation, reflecting how restorative justice can fit into the pull rounding criminal justice system and the identity of a modern definition of community, followed by the ethos of forgiveness. Whilst this concept has relevance in todays society, human rights issues and societys concepts of punishments role create a rhetoric which unperturbed needs to be resolved.The National Victim put forward Programme was considered a way forward with respectto societys acceptance of restorative justice butboth of the major political parties have pursued half formed and in many ways half hearted policies in relation to victims of crime. thither is little indication of change in this area (Newburn and Crawford, 2003 117).Restorative justice is viewed with suspicion due to concern amongst the community in relation to appropriateness of restorative justice for cases of violence and the appropriate punishment in such cases. Added to this, the managerialism and financial control have impacted on the restorative justice movement.Where there is no precedent, the focus of control is balanced between local and central government, with penal reform likely to be forced into the background asthe front workbench Home Affairs spokesmen of both the major parties battling to out-tough each other, there appears little prospect of coherent and forward-thinking policy-making (Newburn and Crawford, 2003178).Individual and collective morality would assume that offenders should be punished to maintain the stability of the community and maintain their safety. A collective conscience ensures that the majority accept the rule of law and accept that deviance needs to be punished. Many organisations have highlighted the growth in recorded crime despite these measures in place to punish the offender.Punishment falls into various areas from incapacitation to retribution, disincentive to rehabilitation. Psychologically, restorative justice is assumed to invoke aesthetic sentiment of forgiveness for miscreants and release for victims. What it fails to do is provide society with assurances that their safety and integrity will be maintained in an atmosphere where the offenders rights appear to be upheld in variance with those of the victim, or the fundamental rights the victim is entitled to expect. Conformity through inner corroborative motivation exemplifies the theory of rehabilitation, although it has been criticised for disparity in proportionality.The concept is not based on the degree of offence committed or focused on the criminals past, but on future rehabilitation to preclude re-offending through changes of circumstances. An equally important part of restorative justice must be in measures to prevent crimes being committed. Funding of 6 million has been invested in a Government programme to reduce crime. Some of these measures include restorative justice, enforcement of financial penalties, CCTV initiatives, word of offenders, youth inclusion initiatives, targeting policies and intervention work in schools (www.crimeredution.gov.uk).CONCLUSIONMeanwhile, three years after it was recognised that real justice for victims and the wider community might be lacking, many changes to the criminal justice system have been introduced. In terms of victims rights, the criminal justice system is now expected to provide a Victims drive that set s out how victims might expect to be treated by the criminal justice system, certain vulnerable victims may be supported by the Victims Support network, and victims of sexual crimes may expect to be advised in advance of the offender being released. Within the terms of the criminal justice system itself these concessions are minimal when correlated with the cost in terms of anguish already experienced by the victims of crime.However, in the wider community even fewer safeguards actually exist to prevent innocent individuals from becoming unwilling victims of an increasingly degenerate society, with those innocent citizens unfairly penalised by the very organisation they would expect to provide them with support in the event of their retaliating and attempting to defend themselves, clearly evidenced in the recent reports in the media, i.e.The justice system must be forced to protect the innocent including those pushed through desperation to act extremely (The Times, 2005, May 5).One of the most topical stories in the media is the evolving happy slapping craze with both the victims and the wider community now more vulnerable than they ever have been. When it comes to the death of an elderly pensioner innocently walking home and attacked by teenagers, and a plank of wood hurled at a funeral wage hike it is more than apparent that David Blunkett needs to provide a more effective means of delivering real justice for victims and the wider community, not just re-balancing the system, but completely re-evaluating the substantial ethos of a citizens right to defend themselves without the additional fear of retribution from a criminal justice system that has more empathy with the offender than it does for the victim of crime. occur Word Count (excluding bibliography) 2,000 wordsBIBLIOGRAPHYBOOKSBlakemore, Ken (1998) Social Policy an entering Buckingham, UKOpen University Press, Page 5Cotterrell, Roger (1989) The Politics of Jurisprudence a Critical Introduction toLeg al Philosophy London, UK ButterworthsDevlin cited in Elliott, C Quinn, F (1998) English Legal System (2nd edition)Essex, UK, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd 449Leigh, A Read, T and Tilley, N (1996) Home Office Problem-orientated PolicingPublished in Brit POP Foreword. 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