An impact statement in case of any crime or incident is the piece of information you provide to the authority regarding how the offence has affected you mentally, physically, financially, or socially. In the document, you need to provide every single piece of information regarding crime impact statement advice on you from their solicitor. The judge will then consider the statement at the time of sentencing the offender. In this guide, we will provide information on how you can write a victim impact statement and your statement’s motive.
The motive of the impact statement
An impact statement is the most important element of the justice system. Those who cannot write a brief and professional impact statement get crime impact statement advice from their solicitors or lawyers to write an effective impact statement. The motive of writing a victim impact statement is to provide information to the court about the crime or accident, and the information must include how the offence has affected you. With the help of the victim impact statement, you inform the offender and make them aware of how their offence has affected you physically, financially or mentally. The judge, after reading your impact statement, will consider the provided information when sentencing the offender. The impact statement can also be provided to the judge in recorded form. It can also include images or photographs to assist the court in understanding your situation.
Who can make a victim impact statement?
If you are a victim of an offence and suffered from mental, financial or physical loss, you can make a victim impact statement to let the judicial system know about how the offence has affected you. the victim is defined in the victim’s Rights Act 2002 and the statement includes:
- The person against whom the offence or crime has been committed.
- The person who has suffered from a physical injury as a result of the crime or offence.
- The person who has suffered from the loss or damage to the property as a result of an offence.
- The legal guardian of the victim if the victim is a child or young person.
- A family member of the person who has been made incapable or dies as a result of an offence.
The one who is not a victim is sometimes asked by a prosecutor to provide the impact statement on behalf of the victim.
What the impact statement should include?
A victim impact statement should contain the words of a victim about how the victim or survivor is affected physically, psychologically, financially or socially. The victim is supposed to provide all information about the economic loss suffered as a result of the crime. The statement also must include the expenses, such as loss of wages, medical bills, property damage or loss and anything else that would cost money to the victim. In the victim impact statement, the victim must describe the physical injuries suffered by the victim, and it includes whether the injuries are temporary or permanent. It must also include the type of therapy required for the treatment of the injury along with the expected length of recovery.
The victim is also required to mention the effects of the offence on their wellbeing.
Significant effects on wellbeing may include:
- Long-lasting fears or phobias, such as sleeping disorders, going out of home, being alone, nightmares or loss of any other psychological issue.
- How the offence has affected the relationship of the victim with their family, co-workers and family.
- Psychological changes, such as anger, hopelessness, overthinking etc.
- Physical changes, such as a change in eating habits, sleeping, loss of weight etc.
After describing the offender and the effects of the offence, the victim can describe how they feel about the offender. In a suitable manner and subtle tone, the victim can mention their recommendation for sentencing the offender. It will help the judge know how you feel. You can provide the judge with any additional information that you think the court should know and might help you.
Final words
The impact statement is a way to tell the judge about the offence and the effects of the offence on your over well-being. The motive of the impact statement is to provide the judge with every information you have regarding the crime or offence.
