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Victims of crime allowed to attend hearings

Law change will bring Scotland into line with England.

27 April 2010 14:41 GMT

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Victims of crime allowed to attend hearings

Parole board: Victims able to attend hearings

Victims of crime will be allowed to appear at parole board hearings of convicts who offended against them.

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing told MSPs that many victims are left "scarred for life" and will be allowed to give evidence in "appropriate" cases.


The move will bring Scotland into line with England, where victims can already make "personal statements" to boards.

Mr Ewing told Holyrood's Justice Committee: "The Scottish Government will put together proposals that will allow victims to be heard at appropriate parole board hearings."


He said this included a commitment to let victims make "oral statements".

The measures will be brought forward "as soon as possible", Mr Ewing said, and he indicated that these may not require primary legislation. It could be done through amendments to the parole board rules, but these will still come before Parliament.


"All of us, as representatives of constituents, will have on occasion received requests to assist those who have been victims of serious crimes," Mr Ewing added.

"We do recognise the plight of the victim is something of huge importance and many people will be scarred for life by their experiences."


An amendment by Labour MSP Margaret Curran to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill would have allowed victims to appear at parole board hearings, but this was voted down by MSPs.

It followed a warning from Mr Ewing against difficulties with the measures proposed by Mrs Curran, although she welcomed the commitment from the Government to bring forward its own proposals.


She said: "Victims have a right to be heard and parole boards have a right to hear that representation, and to make sure that they understand the full impact of any decision."

Mrs Curran said the measure would "empower victims and also ultimately empower the parole board itself".

But Nationalist MSP Stewart Maxwell warned against the danger of parole boards almost turning into a "second trial."

He said: "Victims inevitably, and it's quite understandable, will focus on the original incident, as opposed to what the parole board's job is.


"I think the parole board's job is much wider than that."

 

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