In the April 2018 Gazette, Diarmuid Griffin looks at the role that victims of crime should play in the parole process.
The role of victims
Victim input in criminal justice decision-making has become a matter of increasing focus in many countries, as systems respond to the concerns of the victims’ movement, and the need to provide a greater role for victims in the process.
Perhaps the most significant procedural development has been the adoption of victim-impact statements at sentencing. While this is now a widely accepted practice in many countries, what role, if any, should victims play when it comes to decisions relating to the parole or release of an offender back into the community?
Unlike victim-impact statements, there is little by way of settled practice on victim input in parole decision-making. Victims’ rights can include the right to information, the right to be heard, and the right to be present at parole hearings.
Different approaches
The provision of information regarding release at the request of the victim is common practice in many countries. The right to be heard and the right to participate, however, are far more contentious.
Dr Diarmuid Griffin is a lecturer in Law at NUI Galway, and the author of Killing Time: Life Imprisonment and Parole in Ireland. Writing in the Gazette, he looks at the countries where the views of victims have been a part of the process, and the effects of their input. He also shares insight on his own study of the Irish parole process, and the role that victims play.
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