Victims Taskforce papers: June 2024

A victim-centred approach to justice in Scotland: scoping and modelling project
update to the Victims Taskforce – June 2024 (paper 6)

Introduction

1. This paper provides Taskforce with an update on the Victim-centred Approach to Justice in Scotland: Scoping and Modelling Project. This work was developed by the Victim-Centred Approach workstream of the Victims Taskforce. The project is being led by Journey Associates Ltd, who were appointed in February 2023 following a tendering process.

Background 

2. The aim of this project is to explore potential models of service delivery that are scoped and costed and that align with the goal of providing a victim-centred approach. The project relates to all crime types and is underpinned by placing the needs of the victim-survivor and witness at the centre of delivery and minimising re-traumatisation, in line with the Victims Taskforce vision.

Victims Taskforce vision

“Our vision is that victims and witnesses will be treated with fairness, compassion and in a trauma-informed manner in which their safety and well-being is a priority.

They will have access to consistent, appropriate and timely information and support.

They will be able to understand their rights, have confidence that these rights will be upheld and be able to participate effectively.” (Victims Taskforce Papers: May 2022)

Emerging outputs: propositions

3. During the previous Victims Taskforce Meeting, the Victim Centred Approach workstream presented a detailed overview of the project aim, methods and emerging findings to date.

4. In addition to desk research, a range of qualitative and participatory activities had been undertaken with victim-survivors, victim support organisations, criminal justice agencies and a number of national and international exemplars to explore possible options and changes for a more victim-centred criminal justice system.    

5. A series of 14 propositions for change were presented that emerged from the research activities across the various data sources. Each proposition describes the action required to enhance the criminal justice system for victim-survivors. The proposition titles are: 

1. Implement a shared purpose with clear ownership and monitoring of actions across the criminal justice process 
2. Formalise the referral process
3. Enhance the profile and activities of VSOs
4. Create a Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
5. Enhance standards of service across criminal justice agencies 
6. Enable data sharing and access to information 
7. Humanise the criminal justice system through trauma-informed practice and processes 
8. Enable victim-survivors to give their best evidence
9. Support victim-survivors after the trial 
10. Create a pathway through the criminal justice system 
11. Protect victim-survivors from the media 
12. Reduce time to court 
13. Ensure safety plans are in place for victims before release of potentially dangerous prisoners 
14. Balance the Criminal Justice System putting victim-survivors on par with perpetrators 

Project update: testing and refining propositions

6. During Governance Group Workshop 2, in December 2023, a detailed description of each proposition was presented together with a ‘straw man’ visualisation of an idealised victim-survivor journey with each proposition mapped onto the relevant stages of the criminal justice journey. The propositions were explored, discussed, critiqued and prioritised by participants attending from the following organisations: 

• ASSIST    
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority     
• Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service    
• Parole Board Scotland    
• Rape Crisis Scotland    
• Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services
• Scottish Prisons Service
• Scottish Government
• Victim Support Scotland

7. Propositions were further explored during two workshops, in February 2024, with 20 victim-survivors and support staff from victim support organisations. To ensure a diversity of perspectives and a broad representation of crime types, invitations to participate were extended to a purposively selected group of victim support organisations. Workshop participants included representatives from the Victims Taskforce Advisory Board as well as victim-survivors and/or staff from the following organisations:

• Abused Men in Scotland
• Amina Muslim Women's Resource Centre
• Brake
• Central Advocacy Partners
• National Advocacy Project
• Rape Crisis Scotland
• Scottish Women’s Aid
• Support for Families Bereaved by Crime
• Shakti Women's Aid
• Victim Support Scotland
• West of Scotland Regional Equality Council

8. Crime types represented included: cyber crime, domestic abuse, hamesucken, homicide, human trafficking, rape, stalking, traffic crime, unlawful entry, violent crime/ attempted murder. 

Prioritising propositions for modelling and costing

9. While all 14 propositions should be addressed in developing a more victim-centred criminal justice system, project parameters require a filtering of possible solutions to identify a small number of possible options to take forward for modelling and costing. Through the activities and outputs of the workshops outlined above, and in discussion with the project Steering Group, five propositions emerged as predominant, that is, having a significant role in progressing a more victim-centred approach to the criminal justice system. They are:

(1) Implement a shared purpose with clear ownership and monitoring of actions
(2) Formalise the referral process    
(4) Create a Single Point of Contact (SPOC)    
(6) Enable data sharing and access to information – Victim Passport
(7) Humanise the Criminal Justice System through trauma-informed practice and processes

10. The predominant propositions were presented at the workshop for Victims Taskforce members held in March 2024. During the workshop, the 18 participants were allocated to one of three teams. Propositions (1) and (7) were discussed by each of the three teams as they are closely connected and considered foundational in taking a victim-centred approach and require the support and participation of all Victims Taskforce leaders. Adopting these propositions will influence the shape and progression of all future activities in enabling a more victim-centred criminal justice system. The remaining three propositions were each explored by one team. Prompts used to facilitate the discussions included: 
a. What needs to happen for the proposition to be taken forward?
b. What resources are needed?
c. What are the enablers?
d. What are the barriers? How might they be overcome?
e. What else do we need to know?

The following provides an overview of participants. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice also attended for part of the session.  

Team 1
Caroline Bruce, NES
Liz McNamee, Scottish Prison Service
Yvonne Taylor, SCTS 
Anna Donald, Scottish Government
Lynn Burns, Victims Advisory Board
Kate Wallace, VSS

Team 2
Oona Brooks, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
Stephen Coyle, Scottish Prison Service
Alisdair Macleod, COPFS
Lindsey Henderson, Scottish Government
Sandy Brindley, RCS
DS Bertram, Police Scotland

Team 3
LilyAnna Torres, Law Society of Scotland 
Linda Brown, CICA
Mary Glasgow, Children 1st
Gemma Fraser, Community Justice Scotland 
Jillian Ingram, COSLA
Emma Forbes, COPFS

11. Not to lose sight of the remaining nine propositions, activities are underway to identify existing or planned initiatives across the justice system that the propositions can connect with.   

12. The following three predominant propositions provided the focus for the subsequent workshop with members of the Governance Group, which took place in April 2024. 

(2) Formalise the referral process    
(4) Create a Single Point of Contact (SPOC)    
(6) Enable data sharing and access to information – Victim Passport

During the session, the 14 participants were assigned to one of three teams. Each team took a proposition and drafted a service blueprint and complementary information to outline how the service might work and what was required to enable this. The workshop outputs were digitised and provided the focus for an online workshop with each team to refine their contributions, create a Theory of Change to capture the challenge, intended impact and how that may be achieved and measured and to draft a high-level model of how the service might work. Governance Group members represented include the following: 

• ASSIST
• Rape Crisis Scotland
• Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority 
• Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services
• Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service
• Scottish Prisons Service
• Parole Board Scotland
• Scottish Government
• Police Scotland
• Victim Support Scotland

Next steps

13. An online session will be held with the full cohort of the Governance Group to review the outputs, to gather feedback and refine the three options for costing and modelling. 
14. Two in-person workshops are in planning to present the potential solutions to victim-survivors and staff from victim support organisations. This will provide contributors with an update on the project and an opportunity for a final critique of the outputs before finalising for costing and modelling. 
15. Costing and modelling of the potential solutions.
16. Continued linking in with other Victims Taskforce workstreams to ensure alignment and to avoid duplication.
17. Mapping of existing projects/ initiatives that may be vehicles to take forward some of the propositions.

Timeframe

18. This project is scheduled for completion in autumn 2024, if activities are delivered as currently scheduled. 
19. This project has been taken forward in an extremely collaborative way, this in itself is a huge step forward for enabling system-wide changes. The project has gathered momentum and buy-in for improving victims experiences. As such, it would be helpful for the Victims Taskforce to consider how to build on this to generate tangible impacts and next steps. Some discussion questions are provided at the end of this paper to help focus discussion.
20.  In addition, the project has generated a huge amount of material that will be useful for the work of the Victims Taskforce and consideration should be given as to how this can be progressed:
a.    Detailed examination of good practice from several jurisdictions across the world (exemplars), currently in a separate report
b.    Journey mapping information that details victims’ journeys across the justice system (victims and organisations have been asking for this to be completed, visible and shared)
c.    Pain points – information from victims and survivors about the parts of the system that cause upset, distress and can be re-traumatising.

Steering group

21. The project is overseen by a multi-agency steering group which meets 4-weekly, and its members are noted below:

• Kate Wallace, VSS (co-chair)
• Emma Forbes, COPFS (co-chair)
• Sandy Brindley, Rape Crisis Scotland
• Lindsey Henderson/Lucy Smith/Bekki Aitken, Scottish Government (observers/ secretariat)
• Catherine Docherty, Journey Associates

Conclusion

22. Victims Taskforce members are invited to note the project progress to-date and endorse the key propositions for a victim-centred approach and the additional focus on the predominant propositions.
23. It should be noted that the Journey Associates contract will end once the project report is finalised in autumn.
24. Given the report from Journey Associates for this project will be completed between Victim Taskforce meetings it is suggested that the workstream should continue with its remaining members for the time-being, providing a more detailed proposal for implementation, alongside the project report to the next Victims Taskforce meeting.