NCJ Number
113973
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This chapter describes the basic principles in the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power; summarizes crime-victim proposals in other important international instruments adopted by the Council of Europe; describes pioneering achievements for crime victims in the United States, Canada, France, England, and Wales; and suggests the next steps in meeting crime victims' needs.
Abstract
One principle of the UN declaration is that crime victims should have access to judicial and administrative procedures. A second principle advocates a variety of measures to encourage the use of restitution, and a third calls for the payment of compensation from government funds when offender restitution is inadequate. The fourth principle advocates such victim services as physical and mental health care, social services, policing, and justice. The Council of Europe has developed three instruments which advocate measures for improving the situation of crime victims: the Convention on the Compensation of Victims of Violent Crime (1983), the Position of the Victim in the Framework of Criminal Law and Procedure (1985), and recommendations on the establishment of services to assist victims. In the 'trail-blazing' countries of the United States, Canada, France, England, and Wales victim measures encompass victims' rights to participate in the criminal process and better social and financial assistance to victims. The next steps for victims should be in the areas of police-based services, funding and system change, and legal consideration of victims' safety and welfare.