Better support for victims

Hon John Key

Making our communities safer is a key priority for National.   Everyone should have the right to feel safe in their homes and in their neighbourhoods.

Before last year's election, National promised to put the safety of the public and the rights of victims of serious crime at the centre of the justice system. 

We are delivering on that promise.

We have introduced tougher legislation for sentencing, parole, and bail, particularly for violent criminals.

National is training 600 more frontline police officers and we're rolling out tasers to every police district. 

We're giving police more tools to intercept gang communications, dismantle gang fortifications, and take profits from criminals. And we've introduced a raft of measures to tackle P.

We're also improving support for victims and victim rights. 

For too many victims our justice system has come to represent heartbreak, stress, and delay. 

Many victims face significant financial and emotional costs as a result of the crimes committed against them. 

That's why, from this month onwards, we're increasing the amount of support available for them.

Firstly, we're providing extra support for families of homicide victims.

Families of homicide victims will have access to an extra $4500 to cover funeral costs, on top of the $5500 available from ACC.  We're also increasing the discretionary grant for those having financial difficulties from $1500 to $5000.  Up to five adult family members of a homicide victim will also receive financial help to attend court.

Secondly, we're providing extra support for victims of sexual violence.

We're providing a new court support service for victims of sexual violence, and a discretionary grant to contribute towards the cost of expenses, like replacing items of clothing collected for forensic evidence. 

Thirdly, we are increasing financial assistance to help victims of serious crime attend High Court trials and Parole Board hearings. 

And finally, we are developing new information resources for victims of crime. 

We want this additional support to make a real difference in the lives of victims of serious crime.

It's extremely important for victims to have confidence in our justice system.  Their needs should come before those of offenders.

These new initiatives go a significant way towards achieving this, as does our commitment to making communities safer and our unwavering focus on tackling crime.

National is delivering on our election promise to get tough on crime and make New Zealand a safer place for you and your family.