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What do people hurt by crime or sudden trauma need? To be heard, to have the harm acknowledged and repaired, to have the offender dealt with.

Underlying that though is a single message we hear daily: people affected by crime never want it to happen again. That's why Victim Support says it's as important to prevent crime as it is to make sure victims get the help they need.

Victim Support sees the terrible cost of crime in our community – the trauma, grief, loss and hurt that it causes. That's why we are passionate about supporting people as they deal with these challenges. We work to make sure victims get a fair deal from the criminal justice system, that they get what they are entitled to, that they don't get mucked around by endless court delays, that they have a voice in a system that can seem overwhelming and uncaring and that they are treated with the consistency, respect and dignity that the Victims' Rights Act requires.

But we are equally passionate about reducing the number of people who become victims in the first place. A huge effort goes into preventing crime and victimisation in New Zealand. But it is still not enough. The cost of crime is too high and the need to find solutions that work is both profound and urgent.

Most serious crime is committed by people who have already committed less serious crime. It is often committed by people who have been victims of crime themselves. US research shows that the single biggest predictor of youth offending is prior victimisation.

That's why Victim Support urges the government to ensure that prisons are places of rehabilitation as well as punishment and incarceration. Evidence shows that responses to crime like longer sentences and lowering the age of criminal liability will at best have no impact on re-offending and at worst drive it up. Victim Support cannot support initiatives that may in fact create more victims.

We support initiatives that are working. Restorative Justice for example – at the right time and unrelated to sentencing - is being shown to make a difference, both in terms of reducing reoffending and helping victims get their lives back on track

Our challenge as a community is to respond to victims of crime in two ways: to help deal with the harm done, and work together to prevent harm happening in the first place.