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

提出的研究是一个混合方法的探索受害者个人陈述（VPS）在量刑决策在英格兰和威尔士的作用。受害者影响证据（VIE）对量刑实践的影响在世界范围内尚未得到充分探索，在本司法管辖区几乎完全未被探索。然而，重要的问题是，VPS是否有助于或阻碍决策者坚持量刑应与犯罪的严重程度相称的原则，对这一原则而言，受害者所受伤害的程度是一项相关考虑。这助长了有关受害者权利对被告权利构成潜在威胁的更广泛讨论。这项研究的结果将使政策制定者能够对VPS的未来作出明智的考虑，从而促进其发展和/或微调其参数。混合方法将包括与法官和地方法官面谈，以及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.