Victims get a poor deal from the criminal justice system. That was the clear message from Sara Payne last week — the mother of Sarah, who was murdered aged eight by a paedophile.
In her role as the Government’s “victims’ champion” Mrs Payne has just published the findings of a nine-month study, Redefining Justice, in which she calls for a series of reforms to improve the victim’s lot.
In an address to the annual Bar Conference last Saturday Mrs Payne said that often the victim was the only one in court who did not understand what was going on. Sentences bore no reflection to the time served; victims could find themselves sitting with relatives of defendants; and in general, victims needed to be given