Commerce assignment:
Victims rights, how should victims of crime be treated?
What is a victim?
The victim’s right act defines a victim as a person who, as a direct result of a criminal offence suffers physical or emotional harm, or loss or damage to property.
What are victim’s rights?
There is a wide range of entitlements and services for victims of crime in N.S.W, they include; counseling, compensation, inclusion of victims impact statements for sentencing purposes, victim’s submissions regarding parole, and rights for sexual assault victims, and assistance from Government agencies and victim’s support groups.
Victim’s entitlements are found in the victim’s support and rehabilitation act of 1996. This act also outlines the principles of how victims are to be treated and includes being treated with respect, being given access to welfare, health and counseling services, privacy and being provided with information about the criminal justice system.
The counseling scheme can be accessed by relatives of victims who died from an act of violence, and people who are victims of violence but did not sustain an injury which could be compensated for. Victim’s can receive up to 20 hours of counseling but can also request for more.
The compensation scheme is funded by the government and is judged by the Victims compensation tribunal. The maximum amount which can be claimed, is $50,000. The act also states that for a person to receive compensation they have to be a victim from an act of violence.
A victim’s impact statement is a document, which shows the personal harms of which the victim has suffered. It can also include the impact, which the victim’s death has had on family members. Also when a criminal is coming up for parole the victim has the right to make a parole submission as to whether the offender should be released on parole.
The sexual assault communication privilege means that information given in the course of...