Enhancing trust in the legal system through victims’ rights mechanisms

Abstract

Understanding trust in the legal system has been an important step in comprehending compliance with judicial authorities. Trust results from both procedural aspects such as perceptions of procedural fairness and outcome elements, such as a just verdict. These procedural elements meet the criteria of the relational model of authority, asserting a need for interpersonal treatment and neutrality when assessing justice judgments. While a plethora of research exists, there generally remains less empirical evidence from the crime victim’s perspective. The current study identifies six victim rights mechanisms and examines the association between these variables and the impact of the process on the victim’s trust in the legal system. Results indicate that for Dutch victims of serious crime, victim impact statements are significantly associated with trust. Incarceration as a control variable was also strongly associated with the dependent variable. Assistance from victim support reached marginal significance, though the latter displayed an inverse relationship. Implications for policy are discussed.