scholarly journals The Voiceless Victim: A critical analysis of the impact of enhanced victim participation in the criminal justice process

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Moynihan
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Victim Participation ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Attitudes, Rape and Law Reform in South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 414-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charnelle van der Bijl ◽  
Philip N. S. Rumney
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Judicial Decision Making ◽  
Rape Law ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Impact

In the last decade South Africa has undergone an extensive process of sexual offence law reform. This process has attempted, amongst other things, to address deficiencies in the criminal justice response to rape and has also recognised some of the limits to the impact of legal reform. These limits are partly defined by rape supportive attitudes and myths that appear to influence decision-making at all points in the criminal justice process. In South Africa, and many other jurisdictions, evidence suggests that police, prosecutorial and judicial decision-making is influenced, in part, by a range of social attitudes that misconstrue sexual violence, as well as serve to undermine the credibility of complainants. This article examines the impact of myths, social definitions of rape on rape law reform in South Africa and the points at which these reforms are likely to be undermined by social attitudes and what potentially might be done to address this problem.

scholarly journals Diversion from custody: An update

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 375-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Birmingham ◽  
Olusola Awonogun ◽  
Howard Ryland
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
List Type ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
The Past ◽  
Important Landmark ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Impact

SummaryLiaison and diversion services are concerned with ensuring that individuals with mental health problems and related vulnerabilities who come into contact with the criminal justice system receive appropriate support and treatment. In the past 15 years there have been significant changes in policy, legislation and the broader landscape in community, custodial and hospital settings which have shaped these services. The Bradley Report, published in 2009, represents an important landmark in this field. Bradley made 82 recommendations, from interventions to improve identification of mental illness and vulnerable individuals at risk of offending to effecting speedier transfers of mentally disordered prisoners to hospital. Some progress has been made in achieving these recommendations, and further investment is promised, but at present only half of England is covered by liaison and diversion services.LEARNING OBJECTIVES•Appreciate how services have developed over the past 15 years to provide support and treatment and divert mentally disordered people from custody at all stages in the criminal justice process•Recognise how government policy has shaped the development of liaison and diversion services over the past 15 years•Understand the impact of the 2007 amendments to the Mental Health Act on the diversion of mentally disordered people from custody

scholarly journals The Admissibility of Scientific Expert Evidence Under Indonesian Criminal Justice System

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Wanodyo Sulistyani
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Expert Testimony ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Expert Evidence ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
Process Reliability ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Impact

In many cases, such as corruption and forestry-related crimes, an expert has a significant role in explaining the impact of the crime. For instance, scientific expert evidence is required to disclose about the ecological destruction that occurred due to the defendant's criminal activities. In practices, the issue with scientific expert evidence is supposed to be about its admissibility in court. For this issue, the U.S. Court applies Rules of Evidence in considering the admissibility of scientific expert evidence at trial. Those are some requirements (prong test) to be met before expert testimony is admissible. In contrast, the Indonesian Criminal Procedural Law (KUHAP) or other laws do not set any prong test for presenting specialist scientific evidence to be acceptable. Lack of such proof may impact criminal justice process reliability and place expert under vulnerable position. Therefore, this paper will explore the issue on scientific expert evidence under Indonesian criminal law as well as its consequences and impacts for the Indonesian criminal justice process.

International and Comparative Legal Perspectives on Victim Participation in Criminal Justice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Manikis
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Legal Traditions ◽  
Criminal Justice Systems ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Common ◽  
Victim Participation ◽  
Historical Developments

Victim participation in common law has evolved across history and jurisdictions. Historical developments within conceptions of crime, harms, and victims in common law as well as the different victims’ movements provide an understanding of the ways that victim participation has been shaped in more-recent common law criminal justice systems. Victim participation in the criminal legal process has also given rise to various debates, which suggests that providing active forms of engagement to victims remains controversial. The forms of victim participation are also diverse, and the literature has provided typologies of victim participation. Forms of participation also vary across jurisdictions and the different stages of the criminal justice process, including prosecutorial decisions, pretrial and trial proceedings, sentencing, parole, and clemency. Finally, research that focuses on victim participation in legal traditions beyond the common law would provide an additional and important contribution to the field.

scholarly journals Technology facilitated re-victimization: How video evidence of sexual violence contributes to mediated cycles of abuse

2021 ◽  
pp. 174165902110503
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn Regehr ◽  
Arija Birze ◽  
Cheryl Regehr
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Violent Crimes ◽  
Audio Recordings ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Video And Audio ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Criminal Justice Professionals

With the ubiquity of technological devices producing video and audio recordings, violent crimes are increasingly captured digitally and used as evidence in the criminal justice process. This paper presents the results of a qualitative study involving Canadian criminal justice professionals, and asks questions surrounding the treatment of video evidence and the rights of victims captured within such images. We argue that loss of control over personal images and narratives can re-traumatize survivors of sexual violence, creating technologically-facilitated cycles of abuse that are perpetuated each time images are viewed. We find that the justice system has little to no consistent policy or procedure for handling video evidence, or for ameliorating the impact of these digital records on survivors. Subsequently, we assert that the need for a victim-centred evidence-based understanding of mediated evidence has never been greater.

Technologies of Crime Prediction: The Reception of Algorithms in Policing and Criminal Courts

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Brayne ◽  
Angèle Christin
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Legal Professionals ◽  
Predictive Algorithms ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The number of predictive technologies used in the U.S. criminal justice system is on the rise. Yet there is little research to date on the reception of algorithms in criminal justice institutions. We draw on ethnographic fieldwork conducted within a large urban police department and a midsized criminal court to assess the impact of predictive technologies at different stages of the criminal justice process. We first show that similar arguments are mobilized to justify the adoption of predictive algorithms in law enforcement and criminal courts. In both cases, algorithms are described as more objective and efficient than humans’ discretionary judgment. We then study how predictive algorithms are used, documenting similar processes of professional resistance among law enforcement and legal professionals. In both cases, resentment toward predictive algorithms is fueled by fears of deskilling and heightened managerial surveillance. Two practical strategies of resistance emerge: foot-dragging and data obfuscation. We conclude by discussing how predictive technologies do not replace, but rather displace discretion to less visible—and therefore less accountable—areas within organizations, a shift which has important implications for inequality and the administration of justice in the age of big data.

scholarly journals Taking trauma seriously

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Ellison ◽  
Vanessa E Munro
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Process ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Current Trial ◽  
Trauma Informed ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Criminal Justice Process ◽  
Victims Of Crime ◽  
Victim Participation ◽  
The Government

Over the last two decades successive governments in England and Wales have stated a commitment to placing victims of crime at the heart of the criminal justice agenda. A raft of polices and reforming measures have been introduced with the declared aim of improving the experience and treatment of victims within the criminal process. Despite these developments, the government has recently conceded that the criminal justice process has continued to fall short—whether in relation to helping victims to recover in the aftermath of a crime or supporting them through the stresses of investigation and trial. In this article we argue that applying a trauma-informed lens to evaluate victim-centred initiatives helps to explain the failure of victim policy in England and Wales to fully deliver on its promise. We highlight the barriers that experiences of trauma can present to effective victim participation and the extent to which current trial processes are often liable to exacerbate rather than ameliorate trauma amongst a broad constituency of victims.

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