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‘Closing the blinds on mediocrity’ from billaday, Flickr, creative comms

Almost three quarters of crime victims are unhappy with the way they have been treated by justice agencies, according to a report issued by the office of the victim commissioner Baroness Helen Newlove yesterday.

The report is based on the accounts of over 200 victims of crime. The vast majority of respondents were unhappy with the quality of responses to their requests for help and information. And nearly half said they found the relevant agency’s complaints procedure difficult to use.

One respondent claimed their experience of the service was ‘almost worse than the actual journey of being a victim’.

Launching the report, Baroness Newlove said there was an absence of compassion, patience and empathy in the system.

In an attempt to address the problem the Baroness has set out a list of what she describes as clear standards ranging from direct help with the complaints procedure to much clearer written information for victims.

But the government has claimed it is already acting to improve the system.

Victim’s Minister Mike Penning said in a statement today: ‘I welcome Baroness Newlove’s dedication and hard work supporting my goal to make the system better for victims. She recommends many sensible new standards in this important report, which I will carefully consider,’ he added.