Making the justice system better for victims: what did you tell us?

Introduction

A consultation is when the Scottish Government asks people for their views before important changes are made.

The Scottish Government had a consultation from 12 May to 19 August 2022 about making the justice system better for victims.

The justice system means the people and organisations that deal with crime including the police and courts.

A victim is a person who has been harmed as a result of a crime.

A crime happens when someone does something that breaks the law.

This document tells you about the main findings from the consultation.

These findings come from what respondents said.

Respondents are people who answered the consultation – mostly online.

24 people and 45 organisations responded.

1 in 3 replies were from victim and witness support organisations.

Other organisations that responded included:

• legal organisations
• law enforcement (police)
• children and young people’s organisations
• local authorities (councils)
• voluntary organisations (charities)
• academics (justice and law experts)

A proposal is what we are suggesting could happen to make the justice system better for victims.

There was support for almost all the proposals.

There were mixed views about some of the proposals too.