Appointment of Chief Victims Advisor Applauded
02/07/2014
The Sensible Sentencing Trust has congratulated the Justice Minister, Judith Collins on today’s announcement regarding
the establishment of the Chief Victims Advisor.
"Finally victims of crime will be afforded the true advocacy and support that they are entitled to” says Ruth Money Sensible Sentencing Trust.
“We have been actively promoting the concept of victim advocacy for years now and this proposed position will go a long
way to balancing victims’ rights within the system and ensuring that the Ministry of Justice stays informed regarding
the needs of victims” says Money.
The Government announced a number of other victim-centric initiatives today including:
• Establishing a home safety service to help victims who want to leave a violent relationship
• Exploring the possibility of a conviction disclosure scheme, which would allow a person to be told whether their
partner has a history of violence
• Trialing mobile GPS safety alarms for victims, so they can notify Police of an emergency
• Introducing legislation to allow GPS monitoring of high-risk domestic violence offenders
“These moves and proactive measures from Minister Collins and the Government must be applauded. For too long the system
has seen the rights of the offender or alleged offender come well before those of the victim and public safety, today we
see some balance being proposed”
ENDS