THE CRIMINAL justice system in Northern Ireland should better protect the needs of witnesses and victims of crime, results of a review released today reveal.
Findings by the Criminal Justice Inspectors (CJI) show that "urgent" work needs to be done to protect vulnerable or intimidated witnesses.
Their report also presses for much more progress on support services whereby progress on a case can be made available to victims of crime and witnesses.
Kit Chivers, the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice, praised the progress made on a 2005 report, "Improving the provision of care for victims and witnesses".
However, he said inspectors were "disappointed that certain key recommendations contained in the original inspection report had not yet been advanced".
Mr Chivers said that a recommendation to develop a single point of contact - a one stop shop - where victims and witnesses could obtain support services, information relating to the progression of a case they were involved in or address any other information needs, had not made the hoped-for progress.
"It may be that new technology will make it possible to achieve this aim in a different way from that envisaged when we wrote the report (ie a virtual one-stop-shop), but however it is to be done, it requires urgent attention.
"Agencies also need to take steps to evaluate and improve special measures management for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses as soon as possible," he said.
Mr Chivers continued: "No central evaluation has yet been attempted.
This indicates to inspectors that insufficient priority has been attached to one of the key recommendations contained in the report."
Apart from this, the CJI has concluded that significant steps have been made to improve the services that are available for victims and witnesses of crime.
Their review found that 25 of the 37 recommendations made in its 2005 report, had been achieved.
"The launch of the government's five-year victims and witnesses strategy in September 2007 was a significant achievement, as it enshrined the principle of improving the services provided to victims and witnesses in Northern Ireland for years to come," said Mr Chivers.
"The government, and the agencies and organisations working within the criminal justice system, have shown they have listened to what victims and witnesses say they need, but this effort must be sustained in the future and supported by strong leadership and adequate resourcing.
"The continued delivery of the victims and witnesses strategy will require priorities to be established and targets set and included in annual plans to ensure developments continue," stated Mr Chivers.