media releases

Victim Support Slams The Department For Courts Victim Advisor Programme

3 November 2003

Speaking at the Biennial Victim Support National Conference, Mr Caldwell asked the Minister of Justice the Hon Phil Goff to give serious consideration to an urgent review of the Department for Courts Victim Advisory Service
Mr Caldwell described the current state of the support services needed to aid victim’s participation in the courts and restorative justice processes as inconsistent and fragmented.

He was indignant at the manner in which existing resources are being used.

“The limited resources made available in this area are being squandered through the duplication of infrastructure and services, while at the same time, there are a significant number of victims who are not receiving the advice or degree of expertise they require to participate in these processes effectively” he said.

Quoting the recently published report from the McCarten family on the death of Georgia McCarten. Mr Caldwell admitted to feeling appalled and embarrassed at not only the performance of the Department for Courts, which he described as inconsistent with their obligations under the Act, but also with Victim Support’s own efforts. “Our lack of contact with the primary victims in this case – the parents of Georgia, did nothing to dispel their misconception that Victim Support only provides emotional support, as a result this family was left to negotiate their own way through an unfriendly, offender orientated system”. He said.

He described what followed as one of the worst examples of how badly the system can fail victims. “A litany of coercion, misinformation, bad advice, lack of notification and poor coordination of a fragmented service, all conspired to inflict on these people one of the worst examples of re-victimisation that I am aware of” said Mr Caldwell.

He went on to describe the experiences of the McCarten family as a clear demonstration of how ineffective the Department for Courts’ Victim Advisors are at providing meaningful assistance that enables victims to participate effectively in the Criminal Justice System.