Victims of Efficiency: Tracking Victim Impact Information through the System in Victoria, Australia

The courts of summary jurisdiction in Victoria have recently streamlined procedures for the hearing of guilty pleas: sentencing decisions are now determined largely on the basis of a brief summary of ‘facts’ presented by the prosecution. To assess the extent to which these summaries detail the harm suffered by victims we analysed 276 assault case summaries. The data indicate that summaries rarely report details of victim injury even where this information had been gathered by police. However, the data also suggest that disclosing details of victim injury makes little difference to sentencing and other decisions. This article outlines how existing procedures have allowed information about victims to ‘get lost’ in the system. It argues that demands for reform of the criminal justice system to give greater attention to the interests of victims must take into account the system's commitment to administrative rationalism and technocratic justice. Systematising police summaries in the mention court may prove to be a practical way of reconciling the concerns of victims with the organisational priorities of criminal justice agencies.