Voice for crime victims

Citizens who have been the victims of crime, physical brutality and other forms of harsh treatment are given six weeks to submit their experiences to the Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, UWI for use at the conference. Particular attention will be paid to those victims of serious crimes for which no conviction or appropriate compensation has been given.

According to a release from Professor Ramesh Deosaran, "The crime and court statistics show an alarming dispossession and neglect of crime victims. For example, with the a very low conviction rate of about ten percent for reported serious crimes annually, we have 15,000 serious crimes without a conviction annually, and further, the victims of these serious crimes feeling lost, forgotten and neglected in the process. Such a statistic further means that since about 90 percent of such reported crimes do not have anyone convicted, the criminals are left free to harass and injure citizens time and time again.

"This cycle of victimisation is aggravated by a 60 percent prisoner recidivism rate, meaning that even those criminals who are imprisoned return to commit more crimes again and again. One of the fundamental questions to be raised at this October crime victims’ conference will therefore be: Is such neglect and frustration of crime victims fair, right and just for a civil society? Who is responsible, accountable and what should be seriously done now?

"When all types of crime and other forms of serious victimisation are taken into account, the Centre for Criminology estimates that over 200,000 citizens are seriously victimised annually in this country and left with no recourse or compensation.

The need for a measured role for crime victims in court (judicial) sentencing will also be seriously considered as part of the reform package intended to flow from this crime victims’ conference.

"Another proposal considered for this upcoming conference is the establishment of an annual Crime Victims Day to accompany the subsequent annual crime victims’ and welfare conferences. Another serious issue to be considered at the conference is the lack or inadequate attention paid to citizens’ reports at police stations. From the annual reports by the Police Complaints Authority, this lack of prompt and proper attention is a long-standing disaster area in terms of the rights and welfare of crime victims. The upcoming conference is therefore a step to give crime victims a resonant and sustainable voice in police work and the administration of justice."