Victim Notification Scheme (VNS): independent review

Section 6: History

The Victim Notification Scheme (VNS) came into force on 1 November 2004 and created the statutory basis on which to provide victims of offenders who had been sentenced for certain crimes and to a sentence of four years or more with the right to receive information about the offender's progression within prison and eventual release.

In 2008, the right to receive information was extended to victims of offenders convicted of certain offences who had been sentenced to 18 months or more. The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 provisions were amended by the Victim Notification Scheme (Scotland) Order 2008/185 to enable this. The VNS was also extended to include information about the return of an offender to prison or young offender institution after release or escape, to continue serving their sentence.

The Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent in January 2014. This Act entitled victims of all offences to receive information where the offender was sentenced to more than 18 months. The Victims' Rights (Scotland) Regulations 2015 extended the right to receive certain information to victims of offenders sentenced to less than 18 months. The 2014 amendments also referred to a person who cares for a child under 12, in relation to entitlement to receive information where a victim has died, to enable a victim to make oral representations to Parole Board Scotland when a prisoner is being considered for release and extended the right to make written representations about conditions of temporary release.

Victims Of Those Sentenced To More Than 18 Months

There are two parts to the scheme for those victims of individuals sentenced to 18 months or more. Victims are asked to choose to opt in to either Part 1 or Part 2, or both parts.

Victims who register under Part 2 of the scheme can choose to make written representations to the Scottish Prison Service when the offender first becomes eligible for temporary release and release on Home Detention Curfew; and to the Parole Board for Scotland when the offender is being considered for release on parole licence.

Victims who register under Part 1 of the scheme will, unless there are exceptional circumstances, receive the following information from the SPS: -

(a) The date of release of the offender from prison or detention other than temporary release

(b) If the offender dies before release, the date of the death

(c) If the offender is transferred to a place outwith Scotland, the date of the transfer

(d) If the offender becomes eligible for temporary release

(e) Victims will be informed when the offender first becomes eligible for temporary release, but will not be told about each individual period of temporary release

(f) If the offender has escaped or absconded

(g) The date on which the offender has been returned to a prison or a young offender's institution to continue serving a sentence from which he or she has previously been released or where they had been unlawfully at large

(h) The date on which the original sentence expires

(i) If a certificate has been granted giving the offender unescorted suspension of detention from hospital for the first time

Victims Of Those Sentenced To Less Than 18 Months

For those victims of offenders sentenced to less than 18 months, victims are entitled to request information relating only to the release or escape of the offender from the Scottish Prison Service.

Written Representations To The Sps Under Part 2

Those victims who have opted to make written representations to the SPS receive a letter from SPS Headquarters near the time that the offender is being considered for temporary release advising when and where to send their representations. SPS Headquarters will also write to the victim to inform them of any licence conditions which are specific to them.

Written Representations To The Parole Board For Scotland (Part 2)

Where victims opt to make written representations to the Parole Board for Scotland about an offender's release, the SPS will provide Parole Board Victims Team (PBVT) with the victim's details. PBVT will write to the victim nearer the time that the offender's case is being considered, advising when and where to send their representations.

The Scottish Government website gives the following information on Part 2:

"Part 2 gives you the right to know if the offender is being considered for parole or for release with an electronic tag (Home Detention Curfew). You'll have the right to:

• send written comments to the Parole Board for Scotland when they're considering your case
• send written comments to the Scottish Prison Service when they're considering releasing the offender with an electronic tag."^[1]

Mentally Disordered Offenders

The Victim Notification Scheme for victims of mentally disordered offenders was introduced at the end of September 2017. The scheme places victims of mentally disordered offenders on the same footing as the equivalent criminal justice scheme introduced in 2004.

'CORO' patients (those subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order) did not fall within the remit of the scheme in 2004 or when it was extended to over 18 months in 2008.

In 2010 the Scottish Government consulted on whether procedures should be introduced to enable information to be routinely given to victims of mentally disordered offenders. The majority of the responses received to the consultation were in favour of the introduction of a scheme for the disclosure of information to the victims of mentally disordered offenders. It was in this context that the Victim Notification Scheme was extended to mentally disordered offenders.

The Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 accordingly increased the rights of victims registered for the existing criminal justice Victim Notification Scheme and extended the scope of the Victim Notification Scheme to victims of mentally disordered offenders who received a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order (CORO) as a disposal.

The 2015 Act allowed victims already registered under the existing criminal justice VNS, to receive additional information where:

• the offender receives a hospital direction (HD) as part of their court disposal or
• they become subject to a transfer for treatment direction (TTD) while serving a custodial sentence.

The 2015 Act requires victims to register to make representations and to say whether they want to know that a decision has been taken under the new parts of the legislation. This meant existing registration for the criminal justice scheme was insufficient and a positive request by the victim must be made.