Better data to support victims: our evidence on the draft Victims' Bill
In May, the Government published a draft Victims’ Bill, a long-awaited bill to improve the experience of victims of crime.
We’ve spent the past few weeks interviewing organisations that work to support victims, to understand how well the draft Bill and its proposals on data are likely to succeed.
We’ve just submitted evidence to the Justice Select Committee about the draft Bill, particularly the role of data.
What the draft Bill says
The draft Bill will put the Victims’ Code on a statutory footing. This requires that victims are treated in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner, without discrimination.
Data plays an important part in the draft Bill. Stronger requirements on the police and courts to collect and share data are intended to make it easier to see which organisations are complying with the Code, and which are failing victims.
Alongside the draft Bill, the Government has also begun to develop Victims’ Scorecards, which are intended to be public dashboards of performance.
Summary of our evidence
Overall, we welcome the focus on data in the draft Bill. Having spoken to a number of victims’ organisations, it is clear that better data is much needed to hold underperforming institutions to account, and amplify victims' voices.
However, we are concerned that the draft Bill's proposals will not achieve these aims. There is not enough focus on victims’ voices, and the Victims’ Scorecards do not yet make it possible to monitor underperforming institutions.
Hence, our recommendations are:
Victims’ organisations must be consulted on the nature of the data to be collected and shared. Without this, any data is likely to reflect the concerns of criminal justice bodies, rather than the real concerns of victims.
Publishing data should be a requirement - without it, the opportunity for the public to monitor compliance with the Victims’ Code will be limited.
More scrutiny is needed of the data to be collected, with an ongoing role for the Justice Select Committee to monitor whether published data is meeting victims’ needs.
The Victims’ Scorecards should be assessed against the Service Standard, to make sure that they are meeting the needs of intended users.
We’re grateful to the organisations who gave us their time to help us understand the draft Bill and the needs of victims.
What next
The draft Bill will now begin pre-legislative scrutiny - we’ll be following this closely.
If you’re interested in how the government can use data better to support victims, or the draft Bill, please do get in touch.