In a victim impact statement, a victim details the psychological and physical impacts of crime on them. During a court proceeding, an individual who has been accused or convicted of causing harm to a person, their property, or their loved ones tells the court about the harm they have caused. The victim impact statement can be delivered verbally or in a written form, just like other impact statements (for example, a financial statement, income statement, or work experience statement).

You can also search for reports on Crime Impact Analysis, for example, Crime Impact Assessments UK.

An antisocial behaviour and criminal activity crime impact assessment is a community-led process design to identify problems relating to such behaviour in a give area, inform a collaborative problem-solving approach to address the problems, and monitor the results of the response through repeat assessments.

In the case of major planning applications, local planning authorities will require you to submit a report. There are some cases when these can be call Crime Impact Assessments (CIAs) or Design Out Crime Assessments (DOCAs). Unlike the latter, however, Design for Security takes a consultative and evaluative approach to the former.

Types of Victim Impact of Assessments

Crime Impact Statements (CIS) are require by local planning authorities as part of large-scale development proposals.

If the victim is decease, you should explain how the crime affect the family member by completing the statement. If the victim is still alive, you should describe how the crime affect the victim. Close relatives of the victim may also be affect by the crime. Here are some possible impacts you may wish to consider:

• physical injury;
• the emotional impact of the crime, if it has affect your feelings or emotional wellbeing;
• social impact, including how your interactions with others;
• financial impact, e.g. money or property lost as a result of the crime or inability to work

Three Methods of Crime Impact Analysis:

In order to perform a Crime Impact Analysis, the following three methods are use:

Method 1: Crime Impact Analysis

The existence of this form gives you the opportunity to directly express to the court what you, your family, and others close to you have experienced as a result of the crime. Additionally, it will give them closure on the ordeal they have gone through as a result of the crime they have committed.

As a result of the victim impact statement, the Judge is able to decide what the appropriate sentence should be for the defendant. It is important that the Judge considers your opinion before deciding the defendant’s sentence, even if he or she relies on pre-sentencing reports and certain sentencing guidelines.

Financial loss statements are part of the report, verifying and assessing the crime’s impact on the economy. The Judge might use this information to decide if you owe the court money for expenses you have paid or if you owe the court money for crimes you have committed. If the defendant is order to pay restitution to you, there is no guarantee that the defendant will be able to pay you the entire amount determine by the Judge.

Method 2: Crime Impact Analysis:

There are a number of different ways in which a victim impact statement can be present, including verbally, in writing, or in both (e.g. income statements, financial statements, etc.).

As proof of the severity of the crimes committed by the offender, victim impact statements assist judges in determining the appropriate sentences or punishments. 

Parole boards may use scope statements for the victim as part of the parole process in order to decide what conditions of release will be impose on the victim.

Accordingly, victims’ impact statements may also be use by the court in determining whether or not a defendant should be acquit or convict. Although victim impact statements generally do not require that the victim be present in court, they still give the victim a voice in the investigative process.

Method 3: Crime Impact Analysis

In a Victim Impact Statement (VIS), the victim assesses the damage they have sustain after the crime has been commit.

Victim Impact Statements (VIS) aim to determine the true impact of a crime on the victim (which is part of the VIA process). 

It is also possible for the victim’s friends and family to provide evidence that reveals and provides details such as this (concerning the true effects of the crime) to the court that would otherwise not be available to them.

Final Words:

While the above guidelines do have limitations, they can be use as a place to begin to analyze the impact of crime on society. As individuals, we all express our feelings regarding crime differently, and our victim impact statements are unique to us. There is some flexibility in how your victim-crime impact statement is present, although you will usually be provide with guidelines concerning the necessary elements in the statement.