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Abstract: 

The expansion of victims’ rights over the last several decades has increased the recognition of victims and their importance to the criminal justice proceedings, as well as the need to treat them with greater deference. Although long overlooked, the importance of victims in prosecuting crime has finally been recognized. In 1982, the President’s Task Force on Victims of Crime was the basis of the first victims’ rights policy agenda. In its final report, the task force recommended that “[j]udges should allow for, and give appropriate weight to, input…from victims of violent crime”. Research has shown that that victim activism can influence the decisions made in the early stages of the prosecution. The article discusses this phenomenon and how it operates in practice.

Keywords: importance of victims in prosecuting crime; Presidents Task Force on Victims of Crime; victim activism

Affiliations:  1: Managing Editor.