What do you write in a Victim Impact Statement?
How to Write a Victim Impact Statement?
- How did the crime affect you and your family?
- What was the emotional impact of the crime on you and your family?
- What was the financial impact on you and your family?
- Do you have any recommendations to the court about disposition (sentencing) of this case?
How do I write an impact statement?
Impact statements follow a simple formulaI:
- Describe the issue or problem statement (relevance) in simple terms appropriate for your principal audience.
- Provide an action statement (response).
- Describe the impact (results).
- Who was responsible?
- Your name and contact information.
How long should a Victim Impact Statement be?
Ideally, the statement should take no longer than 10 minutes to read. Shorter and simpler is usually more powerful. A legible, hand-written statement is acceptable. Consider including a photograph as part of your statement.
What is a good impact statement?
A good impact statement illustrates change in at least one of the following areas: economic value or efficiency. environmental quality. societal/individual well being.
How do you write a personal victim statement?
Making a victim personal statement
- physical injury;
- emotional impact of the crime, if it has affected your feelings or emotional wellbeing;
- social impact, including how you interact with people;
- financial impact, including any money or property lost as a result of the crime, or inability to work.
What is a victim impact statement used for?
What is a Victim Impact Statement? It is important for the Court to know the impact this crime has had on its victims. Victim impact statements describe the emotional, physical, and financial impact you and others have suffered as a direct result of the crime.
Who takes a victim impact statement?
A Victim Personal Statement (VPS) gives you the opportunity to explain in your own words the impact that the crime has had on you and your family. It will be taken into account by all criminal justice agencies involved in the case and it can play a key part in sentencing.
What should not be included in a victim impact statement?
Here’s what you should not put on the form: Do not include information that identifies your physical address, phone number, place of employment, or email address. The defendant will have access to your letter or the statement you read in court and could use the information to contact you in the future.
What is a victim personal impact statement?
A victim personal statement (VPS) allows you to say, in your own words, how a crime has affected or continues to affect you. It is considered when a case goes to court and a person pleads guilty or is found guilty.
How do you write a victim statement?
What you should avoid in your Victim Impact Statement
- do not describe the crime more than what is necessary to explain how it affected you.
- do not say what sentence you think the offender should get or what should happen to them.
- do not mention other crimes the offender may have committed in the past.
What should not be included in the victim impact statement?
Do not include information that identifies your physical address, phone number, place of employment, or email address. The defendant will have access to your letter or the statement you read in court and could use the information to contact you in the future.
What to say in a victim impact statement?
A victim impact statement is a written account of the personal harm suffered by a victim of crime. The statement may include a description of the physical, financial and emotional effects of the crime. The victim impact statement is intended to give crime victims a voice in the criminal justice process.
What are victim impact statements used for?
A victim impact statement is a written statement or document prepared by the victim and or affected individual(s) and is used to describe the physical, emotional and/ or financial harm encountered as a result of the incident. You can present it in court and take the stand to read it yourself.
What is an example of an impact statement?
The impact statement summarizes the company’s initiative, why it was put into place, who it benefits and what benefits the community can expect to realize. A common example of an impact initiative is one that benefits the environment or members of disadvantaged socioeconomic segments.
What is the legal purpose of victim impact statements?
Purpose of the Victim Impact Statement.