New rights on way for victims of crime

The new Conservative government has set out plans to increase the rights of victims of crime.

Measures were included in the Queen’s Speech, delivered on 27 May, which set out the government’s policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session.

It included plans for legislation designed to support victims of crime “so that the most vulnerable in our society get the support they deserve”.

It is planned that measures will build on the existing Victims’ Code to guarantee greater protections for victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system.

They include giving victims of crime the right to make a victim personal statement and read it out in court at sentencing and at parole board hearings.

The government said the reforms would give “victims a voice in the criminal justice system and the opportunity to explain how a crime has affected them”.