Victim and Witness Experience of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice System: Key Findings – 2019/20 published today

The Department of Justice (DoJ) today published Research and Statistical Bulletin.

‘Victim and Witness Experience of the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice System: Key Findings – 2019/20’. The bulletin is being treated as an Official Statistics Publication. 

This bulletin outlines the key findings from the latest (7^th) sweep of the Northern Ireland Victim and Witness Survey (NIVAWS). The findings from the survey provide a benchmark against which to monitor progress in the area of service delivery to victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system. Any significant changes in the findings compared with the equivalent findings from the previous 2016/17 sweep of the survey are highlighted throughout the bulletin.

Summary

The key findings from the 2019/20 survey were as follows:- 

Giving a Statement

• Overall, the proportion of respondents who reported being satisfied with the way they had been treated while giving their statement to the police has been consistently high across all sweeps of the survey (over 90% for each year, 94% in 2019/20).
• Of respondents asked to give evidence and who attended court, the proportion who reported having seen a copy of their original statement or the video of their recorded evidence was significantly higher in 2019/20 (87%) than in 2016/17 (79%).

Information Regarding Case Progression

• The proportion of respondents who reported that they had been kept informed by a criminal justice source about how their case was progressing was significantly lower in 2019/20 (73%) than in 2016/17 (79%).
• Compared with 2016/17, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of respondents who reported that they had been kept informed by the PPS (up from 19% to 27%) and a significant fall in the proportion who reported that they had been kept informed by the police (down from 56% to 48%).
• In 2019/20 only a small minority of respondents (5%) reported that they had been kept informed by the Victim and Witness Care Unit about how their case was progressing.
• Just over one quarter of 2019/20 respondents (26%) reported that they had heard of the Victim and Witness Care Unit; of those who had heard of the unit, just over two fifths (42%) reported that they had been contacted by the unit.

Pre-Trial Concerns about Attending Court

• The proportion of respondents who reported having concern about intimidating behaviour on the part of the defendant or his/her supporters was significantly lower in 2019/20 (34%) than in 2016/17 (46%).

The Court Experience

• Of 2019/20 respondents asked to give evidence and who attended court, the vast majority (88%) reported being satisfied with the information they had received to prepare them for going to court. An identical proportion (88%) reported being satisfied with how they had been dealt with prior to attending court.
• Compared with 2016/17, there were significant falls in 2019/20 in (i) the proportion of respondents who reported that they had been offered a pre-trial court familiarisation visit (down from 59% to 47%) and (ii) the proportion who accepted such an offer (down from 51% to 28%).  
• Compared with 2016/17, there was little change in 2019/20 in the proportion of respondents who reported that they had been put in a separate waiting room from the witnesses from the ‘other’ side (84% in 2016/17; 83% in 2019/20).
• There was a significant increase in 2019/20 in the proportion of respondents who reported having to wait at least two hours before going in to give their evidence on their first day of giving evidence (up from 60% in 2016/17 to 79% in 2019/20).

• Compared with 2016/17, there was a significant fall in 2019/20 in the proportion of respondents satisfied with the consideration shown to them before giving evidence in court (down from 93% to 76%).
• Just over two thirds of 2019/20 respondents who ultimately gave evidence at court (68%) reported that they had met or had been introduced to the PPS lawyer before entering the court room. The proportion of victims who had met the PPS lawyer was significantly lower in 2019/20 (65%) than in 2016/17 (90%).
• High proportions of respondents in 2019/20 reported that the PPS lawyer and the judge or magistrate had been courteous towards them (96% and 83% respectively). This contrasted with just 45% of those cross-examined considering that the barrister for the other side had been courteous towards them.
• Of 2019/20 respondents who gave evidence at court, 82% reported that they had been dealt with fairly.
• Overall, approximately four fifths of 2019/20 respondents who attended court (78%) reported being satisfied with their experience at court.

Feelings of Safety

• Seventy nine percent of 2019/20 respondents who attended court reported that they had felt safe before going to court.
• Of those who ultimately gave evidence at court, 91% reported feeling safe while in the courtroom. Among witnesses, however, there was a significant fall in 2019/20 in the proportion who reported feeling safe (down from 100% in 2016/17 to 88% in 2019/20).
• Overall, approximately one fifth of 2019/20 respondents (21%) reported that they or their families had felt intimidated at some point in the criminal justice process.
• The proportion of witnesses who felt intimidated was significantly lower in 2019/20 (10%) than in 2016/17 (16%).
• Ninety percent of those who felt intimidated reported that they had experienced intimidation in the community (i.e. outside the court environment); almost one fifth (19%) reported experiencing intimidation in either the court building or the court room.

Case Outcome and Sentence

• Of 2019/20 respondents involved in cases where there had been a trial, 83% reported that they had found out what the case outcome had been;
• Of those who found out what the outcome had been, 71% considered that it had been fair; this represented a significant increase compared with the equivalent figure of 64% for 2016/17.
• Compared with 2016/17, there was a significant fall in 2019/20 in the proportion of respondents who knew what the sentence had been in their case (down from 75% to 67%).
• Of 2019/20 respondents who knew what the sentence was, almost three fifths (57%) felt that it had been fair.

 Voluntary Support Services

• The proportion of respondents who had contact with Victim Support NI peaked at 42% in the 2019/20 sweep of the survey; of those who had contact, 86% reported being satisfied with the contact.
• In 2019/20, 94% of respondents reported being satisfied with the service received from the Witness Service (either the Victim Support NI Witness Service or the NSPCC Young Witness Service).

Guides on the Criminal Justice System

• Just over one quarter of 2019/20 respondents (27%) reported that they had been aware that there was a Victim Charter; fewer than one quarter (22%) had been aware that there is a Witness Charter and just over one quarter (26%) reported that they had been aware that there was a Guide to Northern Ireland’s Criminal Justice System for Victims and Witnesses of Crime.

Likelihood of Future Engagement with the Criminal Justice System (CJS)

• In 2019/20, 90% of witnesses (excluding those who were the victims) suggested that, were they to witness the same type of crime in the future, they would report the incident to the police.
• Four fifths of victims (80%) to the 2019/20 survey reported that, were they to become the victim of a similar crime again, they would report it to the police.

Overall Satisfaction with the Criminal Justice System (CJS)

• Having answered a series of questions regarding their specific experiences with various aspects of the criminal justice system, survey respondents were then asked to rate their satisfaction on four more global type indicators.
• Compared with 2016/17, there were no statistically significant changes in 2019/20 in the proportion of respondents overall who expressed satisfaction on any of the four indicators. The findings were as follows:-  
• Information received about the criminal justice process (72% of respondents satisfied in 2016/17; 75% satisfied in 2019/20);
• How well kept informed of the progress of their case (64% satisfied in 2016/17; 60% satisfied in 2019/20);
• How well treated by staff in the criminal justice system (83% satisfied in 2016/17; 86% satisfied in 2019/20), and
• Contact with the Criminal Justice System (72% satisfied in 2016/17; 73% satisfied in 2019/20).
• Analysis of the responses of victims, however, showed that, compared with 2016/17, there was a significant fall in 2019/20 in the proportion of victims satisfied with how well they had been kept informed about the progress of their case (down from 65% in 2016/17 to 55% in 2019/20).
• Analysis of the responses of witnesses showed that, compared with 2016/17, there were significant increases in 2019/20 in (i) the proportion satisfied with the information received about the criminal justice process (up from 73% to 81%) and (ii) the proportion satisfied with how well they had been treated by staff in the criminal justice system (up from 85% to 92%).

Notes to editors: 

The Northern Ireland Victim and Witness Survey (NIVAWS) is an interview based survey, conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI).  The survey questionnaire is extensive in scope covering all aspects of the victim and witness experience of the criminal justice system from the point of initial contact with the police at the time of the crime right through to the point of sentencing and beyond. 

The survey was administered to 958 victims and witnesses involved in criminal cases which closed during January to September 2019. Cases involving certain types of crimes are excluded from the survey (e.g. cases involving a fatality or involving sexual or domestic violence, drugs offences, motoring offences and fraud and forgery). In addition expert witnesses (e.g. police officers or other criminal justice officials) are excluded.

Official Statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.  They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.  They are also subject to restrictions in terms of pre-release access. 

The bulletin will be available in PDF format from either this website at the Statistics and Research section or Analytical Services Group, Financial Services Division, Block B, Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Upper Newtownards Road, Belfast BT4 3SG.

Email: statistics.research@justice-ni.x.gsi.gov.uk

Press queries about this publication should be directed to the DOJ Press Office via email at press.office@justice-ni.x.gsi.gov.uk

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