The Victims’ Commissioner seeks views on Victim Personal Statements

The Victims’ Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, is carrying out a review of Victim Personal Statements (VPS) and is inviting victims to complete an online survey about their experiences of making a VPS at court and Parole hearings.

The review is intended to develop a better understanding of VPS processes and how agencies could make better use of them. It will also clarify the purpose of VPS and explore victims’ experiences and understanding of what it means for their VPS to be taken into account.

The review will be published in the autumn and is likely to make recommendations to ministers, the government and heads of criminal justice agencies. Baroness Newlove said: “I am confident that my review will be an effective lever to secure positive change for victims. It may well be that my recommendations will inform what goes into the Victims’ Law.”   

Baroness Newlove wants to obtain the views of as many victims as possible before completing her review and would welcome even partial returns from people unable to complete the entire form.  All responses will be treated in the strictest of confidence although she asks if some victims would be happy for her team to contact them if they need additional information.

The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and can be found here.