Are victims of crime really second-class citizens when it comes to our criminal justice system? Mark Sylvester investigates

When the police telephoned Kim to tell her they had caught a suspect to the burglary at her home she was relieved. For weeks she'd had trouble sleeping, and had taken time off work, but now she thought this was the end of her ordeal. Unfortunately, in many ways, it was just the beginning.

It was months before the case came to trial, during which the suspect was on bail, and Kim feared he night come back at any moment. Even when a trial date was set the suspect initially failed to turn up, leaving Kim with a fruitless trip to court. Eventually the man was jailed for two years, but by then the ordeal of giving evidence in court had left Kim needing sedatives and facing disciplinary action for taking so much time off work.

'There have been times when I wondered whether it was all worth it,' she says. 'The guy who ransacked my home was jailed for two years, but I spent a year reliving the experience. I sometimes think if I'd not called the police it would have been easier.'

'A football match'
If she hadn't called police, Kim wouldn't have been alone. Figures from the Government sponsored British Crime Survey show that half of all crime victims choose not to report it. According to Victim Support, the UK's leading victims' charity, fear of the criminal justice system is a major reason.

The plight of crime victims has been thrown into sharp relief by two recent incidents. One was a report by the Crown Prosecution Service, which revealed that only one in 13 allegations of rape resulted in a conviction. The other was a speech by Britain's senior policeman, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens. Sir John told students at Leicester University that the legal system was like 'a football match in which each side played by different rules'. He said witnesses were treated with contempt, and that unless there were drastic reforms victims and witnesses would simply not turn up.

It is a fear echoed by Victim Support. Victim Support policy advisor Debra Singer says: 'The basic problem with the criminal justice system is that it has evolved to deal with offenders, not to look after the interests of victims and witnesses.

'There has always been a feeling that witnesses, who usually include the victims, are treated as a means to an end, shunted in at one end and spat out the other. But the whole system relies on witnesses, and if you don't treat them right it collapses.' At present around 16% of trials collapse because witnesses fail to turn up.

The Victims Charter
There have, however, been some initiatives to improve the lot of victims in recent years. The 1990 Victims Charter, currently under review, set out on paper what victims could expect for the first time.

The Government is also formulating a victims' 'Bill of Rights' and has pledged to introduce a victims' ombudsman. By July there will also be new measures designed to allay the fears of vulnerable witnesses by allowing them to give evidence by video or from behind a screen, at the trial judge's discretion.

Victim Support, however, believes that plans for an ombudsman do not go far enough, asking instead for a Commissioner for Victims with more power. Debra Singer says: 'Many problems faced by victims fall outside the criminal justice system. Health professionals often don't know how to deal with crime victims, and victims can have housing problems, particularly in cases of burglary or domestic violence. They can face problems with employers who do not understand that they need time not just to recover but to deal with things like insurance, which is in itself a minefield. Only a commissioner would be in a position to deal with those sorts of matters.'

Victims in court
Another key issue for any commissioner or ombudsman would be the court system. Many surveys have highlighted aggressive questioning by defence barristers as a major cause of distress for victims. Debra Singer says: 'Research on rape cases showed that most victims find the questioning humiliating, aggressive and undermining, despite a recent law which prevents the defendant cross examining the witness.'

The questioning of witnesses has also been condemned by Norman Brennan, director of the Victims of Crime Trust. He says: 'I see offenders being treated like royalty while victims are second class citizens, despite the fact they have been brave enough to come forward. Some defence barristers don't seem interested in justice. It's just a game.'

Debra Singer adds: 'We are aware that it is important to protect defendants' rights, but we don't think that needs to be at the expense of the rights of the victim.'