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Nikolic-Ristanovic, Vesna and Sanja Copic. The position of victims in Serbia: criminal procedure and possibilities of restorative justice.

In the paper, the authors deal with the victim’s position in the criminal procedure, on the one hand side, and the possibilities of implementing restorative justice and its importance for the improvement of victim’s position in Serbia, on the other one. In the first part of the paper, the authors point out victim’s position within the criminal procedure and the noticed gaps, which are particularly reflected in insufficient paying attention to the victim and neglecting of his/her rights and needs. This is opposite to the strengthening of the rights of the accused party that characterizes societies, which are, as our society, on the way of democratization and improvement of human rights. In the second part of the paper, the authors analyze some solutions that introduce elements of restorative justice into our system of criminal response to crime, but from the victim’s point of view. Finally, the authors also point out some further steps that should be undertaken in order to improve the victim’s position, particularly emphasizing the place and role of victim support service, witness service and special facilities in the courts for victims/witnesses, possibilities of using victim-offender mediation before reporting the crime, or staring the prosecution, or as a part of the treatment in the prison etc.

Umbreit, Mark S. "Restorative Justice Conferencing: Guidelines for Victim Sensitive Practice - "Adapting Conferences, Mediations, Circles and Reparative Boards to People, Communities, and Cultures."

The purpose of this monograph is to present guidelines for the practice of victim sensitive restorative justice conferencing, a term used here to identify all those processes that facilitate restorative dialogue and problem-solving among victims, offenders, family members, and other support persons or community members. Umbreit refers specifically to four established expressions of restorative justice conferencing: victim offender mediation, family group conferencing, peacemaking/sentencing circles, and reparative community boards before which offenders appear. Umbreit addresses a number of questions concerning the nature of restorative justice conferencing. Using examples of cases and programs, he notes specific characteristics of a multi-method approach to victim offender conferencing. Then he identifies core principles and skills of restorative justice conferencing, including humanistic "dialogue-driven"mediation/facilitation, guidelines for victim sensitive conferencing, and multi-cultural implications.

Strang, Heather. Restoring victims: An international view

Strang maintains that international research reveals considerable consensus among victims of crime concerning shortcomings in criminal justice systems. Despite successes of the victims’ movement in recent decades, some argue that victims can get rightful attention only through transformation of criminal justice systems in terms of restorative justice principles and processes. To examine this argument, Strang discusses the concept of restorative justice, restorative justice in practice, and what restorative justice offers victims. Referring specifically to conferencing as applied in Canberra, Strang also sketches research findings on victim participant satisfaction with conferencing. From all of this, she concludes that restorative justice may in fact assist victims better than current criminal justice systems.

Sebba, Leslie. On the relationship between criminological research and policy: The case of crime victims

With the rise of the victims’ rights movement in recent decades, many policy reforms have been enacted and much research has been conducted. In this article the author investigates the relationship between policy reforms and research. Is there a connection between policy and research, and if so, to what extent is there a connection? To answer these questions, Sebba examines conceptual issues regarding the symbiosis between criminological research and criminal policy, and issues related to research on victims in particular. Based on the analysis, Sebba arrives at two conclusions. (1) Factors other than empirical research results play more significant roles in policy formulation; research findings are generally used to buttress policies advocated for those other reasons. (2) From research evaluating victim-oriented policies, it appears that those policies are only moderately effective in achieving their intended goals.

Knight, Jeff. Having Their Say-The Role of Victims in Diversionary Conferencing.

The author, a Senior Constable on the Diversionary Conferencing Team of the Australian Federal Police, discusses Diversionary Conferencing in the Australian Capital Territory, including the role of the victim and how the process can help the victim in recovering from the effect of the crime.

Lamont, Louise. A best practice model for victim services: A reflection on the process that developed the model.

Lamont maintains that, for families affected by family and domestic violence, a Best Practice Model is a critical mechanism for promoting victim safety. Specifically, such a model maximizes accountability in service provision, so that victims receive quality service in response to family violence. With this in mind, she provides an overview of the processes that led to the development of a Best Practice Model for Victim Services within the Domestic Violence Prevention Unit (Western Australia).

Lavery, Carol and Achilles, Mary. Apologies: Balancing the Needs of Victims and Offenders

Lavery and Achilles identify important issues and questions that must be addressed when apologies by offenders to their victims is considered as part of a restorative justice endeavor. The victim must be in control - fully informed of the offenders motives and expectations, and allowed to decide when and if to accept an apology - in order for the apology to have a truly rehabilitative effect.

Voth, David. The Victim Justice Ship in the Restorative Justice Harbor

The author notes that workshops on the role of crime victims in restorative justice theory and programming usually center on anecdotal victim sensitivity stories, illustrations of victim offender mediation, and exhortations to include victims as stake holders in the justice process. These activities should continue, but reaching a safe harbor where the victim justice ship can dock requires additional channel buoys. Although we see dimly the shores of restorative justice, it must include healing oriented processes for all participants even before the conclusion can be determined collaboratively between victim, community, and offender. To move toward that place in history, some system changes and victim issues need to be addressed.

Strang, Heather and Sherman, Lawrence W. The Victim's Perspective

The authors claim that victims are the forgotten players in the drama of criminal justice, exploited for their evidence but otherwise abandoned. Victims say that little attention is given to the repair of the harm they have experienced personally, or to the psychological and emotional consequences of victimisation. They also say that they feel frustrated and alienated from the justice system, where both the process and the outcome of court procedures fail to take proper account of their perspective. The authors examine how the Canberra police have introduced a radical alternative to traditional court processing, called Diversionary Conferencing, to give victims an opportunity to redress the shortcomings of the justice system from their point of view. It provides them with a forum to explain directly all the harm they have experienced as a result of the offence and to be part of the process that decides on a suitable outcome to repair that harm.

Price, Marty D.. Punishment - What's in It for the Victim? A Restorative Justice Discussion for Crime Victims and Their Advocates

A growing number of victims of severely violent crimes are finding that confronting their offender in a safe and controlled setting, with the assistance of a mediator, returns their stolen sense of safety and control in their lives. Victims (who are largely ignored by the traditional criminal justice system) have the opportunity to speak their minds and their feelings to the one who most ought to hear them, contributing to the process of healing and closure for the victim. Victims get answers to the often haunting questions that only the offender can answer. With their questions answered, victims commonly report a new peace of mind, even when the answers to their questions were even worse than they had feared or imagined.

Howard League for Penal Reform. Victims of Crime

This paper by the Howard League examines the place victims of crime have in the criminal justice system. In the past two decades the amount of media and political attention given to victims has increased immeasurably, but to what extent has this been mere lip service or a political game? Are the current mechanisms which are being constructed adequate or focused on what victims of crime want or need? The League looks at the current academic and political attention being given to the victims of crime; what services are provided for them and the role that victims may expect to have in the criminal process

Bazemore, Gordon. Crime Victims and Restorative Justice in Juvenile Courts: Judges as Obstacle or Leader?

The central role of crime victims in restorative justice creates a number of dilemmas for offender-driven justice agencies. Neither the traditional juvenile justice response to youth crime focused on the "best interests" of the child nor the new retributive emphasis provide a role for crime victims as recipients of service or participants in juvenile justice. Based on the results of focus groups with juvenile court judges and victims of juvenile crime in four states, this paper presents qualitative findings on judicial support and resistance to the idea of the victim as a "client" of juvenile justice and a coparticipant in the justice process. The implications of restorative justice for reform in juvenile courts are also examined.

Banks, Cyndi. Victims in the Village: Aspects of Restorative Justice in Papua New Guinea

In the villages of Vanimo West Coast, Papua New Guinea, restorative justice processes continue to adhere to traditional practices and beliefs. The article examines how modernization has influenced traditional restorative practices and in particular how the criminal justice system is perceived and used by indigenous peoples. It also identifies the kinds of acts considered injurious, traditional restorative justice practices, and modern attitudes and practices by victims seeking justice. Villages have maintained a private/public distinction in their disputes, keeping disputes between close kin private, and publicizing others. Traditionally, disputes made public would be taken to the Chief. Today, in some cases, the courts and the community government council are the chosen forums for publication. Sometimes a victim seeks only to shame the offender by making the dispute public, this being an end in itself. The article makes explicit the capacity of victims for adaptation and the continued resilience of custom in resolving grievances. Abstract courtesy of Natinal Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.

Herman, Susan. Viewing restorative justice through victims’ eyes

Despite improvements in the criminal justice system in addressing the needs and rights of victims, crime victims often feel further unsatisfied, alienated, and mistreated by the system. In theory, restorative justice promises to remedy this situation. Yet Herman asserts that this is not the case. She contends that restorative justice programs leave out most victims, and that restorative justice does not address many critical needs of victims. Hence, she calls for a restorative justice that would be truly victim-oriented.

Malsch, Marijke and Carriere, Raphaela. Victims’ wishes for compensation: The immaterial aspect

Malsch and Carriere observe that victims have various expectations of the criminal justice system. These expectations relate to both the process of the system and the outcome of the trial. The authors examine victims’ expectations in relation to Dutch legal procedures for compensation of immaterial losses suffered by victims. Their analysis includes a table presenting different types of damages and compensation, and suggestions for further research into this subject.

George, Chris. Victim Support’s perspective on restorative justice

Victim Support in the United Kingdom is a voluntary organization providing services to victims of crimes, their families, and crime witnesses. From that perspective, George maintains that restorative justice can offer real benefits to victims of crime. However, he further argues that certain issues must be addressed for this to happen. In this article George discusses several issues that would involve crime victims in restorative justice in integral ways, such as understanding how crime affects victims and offering victims genuine choices in restorative processes.

Cook, Bree and David, Fiona and Grant, Anna and David, Fiona. Victims’ needs, victims’ rights: Policies and programs for victims of crime in Australia

In this document the authors examine crime victimization in Australia. At the beginning of the report, they summarize their research methodology. Following that, they organize and present the research findings in these major categories (corresponding to chapters): crime victimization in Australia; the impact of crime on victims; responses to victims of crime; the development of victims services in Australia; and a descriptive overview of those services in the states of Australia. The authors then recommend directions for policies in Australia with respect to victims’ needs and rights. Additional material at the end of the report includes the following: list of participants in the research; state legislation relating to victims of crime; and the United Nations’ Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power. A number of tables and figures in the text supplement the report with statistical information on crimes and crime victims in Australia.

de la Cuesta, Jose and Mesas, Francisco de Jorge and Vidosa, Fely Gonzalez and Mesas, Francisco de Jorge. The treatment of victims of crimes and offences in the Spanish system of justice

The authors maintain that Spanish law and criminal justice are primarily oriented toward determination of the offense and penal responsibility of the offender, not the interests of the victim. The victim does not have a significant status in Spanish criminal justice. Yet they note, as a first step, the emergence of some public offices to assist victims. With all of this in view, the authors examine certain aspects of the Spanish system with respect to victims: the criminal law; the procedural system; and the emerging offices for aid to victims. The section on these offices includes a brief history of them, and a sketch of the functioning of the office in Valencia and the criminal justice context there. As part of their examination, the authors present certain statistics on types of offenses, and the experiences of victims resulting from assistance they received. They conclude that efforts to address the needs and rights of victims are moving forward in Spain, but that much work remains to be done to increase the scope of victim assistance and integrate it into the criminal justice system.

Burns, Jaime Lynn. Families of Homicide Victims Speak: An Examination of Perceptions of the Criminal Justice System and Capital Punishment.

The goal of this project was to explore the sentiments of murdered victims’ families where the offender received the death penalty. Specifically the research aimed to: (1) examine the experiences of murdered victims’ families with the criminal justice system. In particular, the questions focused on (a) whether there was a sense of inclusion or exclusion by the system, (b) if the family members have, or believe they will have, a sense of closure or finality due to the proceedings from the case, and (c) if there is an overall satisfaction with the criminal justice system and their processes; and (2) examine how these experiences with the criminal justice system shape family members’ views of the death penalty. This is important because within the United States there is a growing debate about whether or not capital punishment should be ruled unconstitutional across every state. One aspect that is continually ignored is the victims’ families’ opinions about this topic. (excerpt)

Acker, James R and Karp, David R. Wounds That Do Not Bind: Victim-Based Perspectives on the Death Penalty

This volume presents perspectives of murder victims' family members, academics, and crime victims' advocates regarding an intensely debated issue about which surprisingly little information exists: the significance of capital punishment to murder victims' survivors. The book includes more than twenty chapters that examine a variety of issues concerning these survivors, or co-victims, and the death penalty. These chapters present the personal accounts of victims' family members' experiences with the criminal justice system and examine relevant legal and research issues, including the use of victim impact evidence in capital trials, how the capital punishment affects co-victims, what is known about the immediate and long-term needs of murder victims' survivors, and how these needs can be addressed. (publisher's description)