VICTIMS AND THE LAW







Since when did being a victim of crime confer sainthood and the Wisdom of Solomon? I ask as this as now it seems to be the received wisdom. Over the weekend I heard from Hugh Grant, from Harriet Harman and Ed balls a reiteration of the prime ministers foolish statement that the test of any post Leveson legislation was whether it met with the approval of the victims. Well, no; the victims of the Tabloid crime machine suffered both grievously and grotesquely and it is extraordinarily difficult to imagine what families like the Dowler’s and the McCann’s have been through. However the perpetrators of the crimes against them are now thankfully being dragged through the courts. I do not think it wise to hand over the framing of future legislation to victims is in any way appropriate in a properly functioning liberal democratic society.[1] I have been a victim, I was mugged. The worst aspect was having my mobile phone stolen, since it contained contacts that I subsequently lost, not having backed them up. In the immediate aftermath I think it would have been unwise to have consulted me on what punishment ought to have been meted out to the perpetrators. I think “bring back the birch,” would have been one of my more liberal suggestions. It could have been framed as Talbot’s Law, mandatory birching whenever the victim was established to be a well meaning leftie liberal. 

Victim’s justice ultimately evolves into the justice of the lynch mob, as Rebecca Brookes established in her naming and shaming of paedophiles stunt. Of course the voice of the victim should be heard, as it is in the case of victim impact assessments, but justice is best delivered dispassionately.

Press freedom is far too vital for our society to be decided by the opinions of those who have suffered at the hands of gutter journalism. When considering a response to Leveson the views of the victims cannot be paramount. The true test of any solution is that it is proportionate and that it protects a free press’s ability to investigate and expose malfeasance and criminality.
[1] For the purposes of this exercise I am asking for  the assumption that we still aspire to live in such a society. 

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