Page 3446 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 13 October 1993
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VICTIMS OF CRIME - COMMUNITY LAW REFORM COMMITTEE REPORT
Paper and Ministerial Statement
Debate resumed from 15 September 1993, on motion by Mr Connolly:
That the Assembly takes note of the papers.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.11): Madam Speaker, we are still on the subject of crime and, in this case, we are looking at the question from the perspective of people who are victims of crime. I think we would all agree that the trend in recent years has been that there is a need for more focus on that perspective. The paper presented by the Government on victims of crime is a welcome document. I welcome the tabling of this report by the Community Law Reform Committee on the victims of crime.
The terms of reference for the inquiry relate to the effectiveness of our justice system in dealing with victims of crime. It is true that for many years our justice system has dealt primarily with the rules of evidence from a point of view which emphasises the position and the rights of the accused. The emphasis has been on constructing our system of justice so as to prevent an accused wrongfully being found guilty of an offence. The maxim that it is better for nine guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to be convicted is part of the system that has been built. In the course of that happening an emphasis has moved onto the position of the accused to the detriment of the victim and that has caused some community backlash.
In establishing the terms of reference for this inquiry the ACT Alliance Government sought to recognise the very valid concern expressed by victims of crimes and their representative organisations that they were being left out of the justice system. Effectively, a victim's part in the crime was seen to be over once they gave evidence in court. My party has argued for some time that there is a need to take greater account of the effects of crime on its victims. For example, the use of victim impact statements is a welcome recommendation of this report. Victim impact statements are already in use in the ACT, more by practice than by requirement. The use of the statements must be widened, I think, to include all cases where there is a victim of a crime. I note that the report says:
The Committee recommends there be statutory provision for the tender of a voluntary victim impact statement in all cases of indictable offences against the person or involving violation of a person's property whether by theft, fraud, robbery or otherwise, punishable by imprisonment for five years.
The committee expressed a view that for more minor offences that may not be appropriate. I would take the view that a victim impact statement should be presented for every crime involving a victim, particularly in cases of crime against the person. Even though these offences might be deemed to be minor in the eyes of some people, any offence against the person has the potential to cause long-term damage and lasting effects on the victim. We ought not to assume that, because an offence is minor, the impact on the victim of that offence is also minor. I understand that the concerns of the community were expressed at paragraph 137 of the report, where the committee said:
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