THURSDAY 5 MARCH 2020Victims can now challenge
attackers’ prison release
LIZZIE DEARDEN
HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT
Victims of violent and sexual offences are being given the automatic right to challenge their attackers’
release and apply for restrictions to protect themselves. The changes come after victims of the black cab
rapist John Worboys revealed that they first heard of his planned release through news reports, sparking a
successful legal challenge to keep him in jail.
The scandal generated outrage over revelations that some women he targeted were not able to make
representations to a Parole Board hearing that initially decided Worboys should be freed. Proposed
revisions to the Victims’ Code aim to ensure the mistakes cannot be repeated, and include a host of other
measures to guarantee a minimum level of support.
The government has launched a six-week consultation on its plans, which would lay out 12 rights such as
being referred to victim support services, being given timely updates on police investigations and court
cases, and handed information on compensation.
The changes would see victims of violent or sexual offenders, who are jailed for a year or more,
automatically referred to the Victim Contact Scheme, which previously had to be opted into. It gives
victims a liaison officer charged with telling them when attackers are considered for release, how to make
representations to the Parole Board and how to apply for licence conditions.
They would be advised on how to challenge a Parole Board decision if their abuser is judged safe to release.
The proposals also contain new rights for victims of mentally ill and foreign national offenders, ensuring
they receive information on hospital orders and deportations.
They were revealed after prosecutions fell to a record low in England and Wales, with only 7.3 per cent of
reported crimes resulting in a charge or summons.
Only 1.4 per cent of alleged rapes are now prosecuted, amid warnings that the treatment of victims –
including mobile phone seizures and delayed investigations – were causing them to drop out of cases.
In 2018, research found that only a quarter of crime victims felt properly supported, and 43 per cent had not
been notified of developments including perpetrators being arrested or released.
Alex Chalk, the justice minister, said changes to the Victims’ Code were a “vital step in our efforts to
rebuild confidence in the criminal justice system”.
“It will make the process less daunting and provide victims with the information and support they need to
recover from crime,” he added.