Appointment of Chief Victims Advisor Applauded

02/07/2014

The Sensible Sentencing Trust has congratulated the Justice Minister, Judith Collins on today’s announcement regarding the establishment of the Chief Victims Advisor.

"Finally victims of crime will be afforded the true advocacy and support that they are entitled to” says Ruth Money Sensible Sentencing Trust.

“We have been actively promoting the concept of victim advocacy for years now and this proposed position will go a long way to balancing victims’ rights within the system and ensuring that the Ministry of Justice stays informed regarding the needs of victims” says Money.

The Government announced a number of other victim-centric initiatives today including:
• Establishing a home safety service to help victims who want to leave a violent relationship
• Exploring the possibility of a conviction disclosure scheme, which would allow a person to be told whether their partner has a history of violence
• Trialing mobile GPS safety alarms for victims, so they can notify Police of an emergency
• Introducing legislation to allow GPS monitoring of high-risk domestic violence offenders

“These moves and proactive measures from Minister Collins and the Government must be applauded. For too long the system has seen the rights of the offender or alleged offender come well before those of the victim and public safety, today we see some balance being proposed”

ENDS

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