Info

Info

Summary

Freckelton, Ian (2003). Compensation for Victims of Crime In, Hendrik Kaptein and Marijke Malsch. Crime, Victims, and Justice. Essays on Principles and Practice. Hampshire, England and Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing. Pp. 31-62.

In discussing compensation for victims of crime, Ian Freckleton begins with the observation that payment of financial compensation for non-pecuniary effects of crime – such as pain and suffering – is a comparatively recent phenomenon. It dates from increased awareness, starting in the 1960s and 1970s, of the impact of criminal violence upon victims. However, what seemed at first as a breakthrough in community empathy and governmental responsibility for victims has been followed in some countries by a backlash against the expense in state funding of compensation schemes for criminal injuries. Hence from various sources, such as the law and order movement and restorative justice, the alternative of criminal injuries compensation paid by the offender has gained momentum. In this context, Freckelton focuses upon the Australian experience of criminal injuries compensation. He highlights its evolution and places it within the international context as a stark example of changing governmental attitudes toward the needs of victims.

4373