A mixed-methods study of the role of the Victim Personal Statement (VPS) in sentencing decision-making in England and Wales.

这项研究是对英格兰和威尔士的受害者个人陈述(VPS)在量刑决策中的作用的混合方法的探索。受害者影响证据(VIE)对量刑实践的影响在世界范围内探索不足，在本司法管辖区几乎完全没有探索。然而，VPS是否有助于或阻碍决策者遵守判决的严重程度应与犯罪的严重程度成比例的原则--受害者所受伤害的程度是一个相关的考虑因素--这一问题是重要的。这是关于受害者的权利对被告的权利构成潜在威胁的更广泛的论述。这项研究的结果将使政策制定者能够在知情的情况下考虑VPS的未来，导致其发展和/或其参数的微调。混合方法将包括约谈法官和治安法官，并对法庭笔录进行定性和定量分析。

The proposed study is a mixed-methods exploration of the role of the Victim Personal Statement (VPS) in sentencing decision-making in England and Wales. The effect of victim impact evidence (VIE) on sentencing practices is underexplored worldwide, and is almost entirely unexplored in this jurisdiction. However, the question of whether the VPS serves to help or to hinder the decision-maker in adhering to the principle that the severity of a sentence should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime, to which the extent of the harm suffered by the victim is a relevant consideration, is important. This feeds into wider discourse concerning the potential threat posed by victims' rights to those of defendants. The findings of the study will enable policymakers to give informed consideration to the future of the VPS, leading to its development and/or the fine-tuning of its parameters. The mixed-methods approach will involve interviews with judges and magistrates, and both qualitative and quantitative analysis of court transcripts.