Editorial: McVicar and team deserve thanks

Love them or hate them, there's no denying that the Sensible Sentencing Trust has made a difference over its 10 years.

During years of covering the courts and legal issues I've had a bit to do with the trust and they certainly do provide a voice for the victims of crime.

But they have done more than that. They have pushed for changes in the justice system and have had some success.

The brainchild behind the trust, Garth McVicar, was in Rotorua last week and spoke at a public meeting of some of those successes which included the introduction of a $50 offender levy which anyone who is convicted of a crime has to pay.

They pushed for a review of the legal-aid system which had grown from a $150,000 spend in its first year to $150 million spend in more recent times.

They also helped push for the new three strikes legislation which means that offenders who continue re-offending will be locked up for much longer periods of time.

What struck me the most when I heard Mr McVicar speak the other night was that he has never been the victim of crime. He'd just had enough of the justice system and wanted change. He said people have called him all sorts of names including a redneck but at least he has been prepared to put in the long hours to influence change.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be the victim of a serious crime but I've seen the various approaches taken by victims over the years. Some like Gil and Lesley Elliott - the parents of murdered Dunedin woman Sophie Elliott - have used the incredible pain they have been through to influence change and they are to be commended for that.

Others have not known what do with their grief and pain and it's organisations like the Sensible Sentencing Trust which have been able to step in and help those people.

There have been others who have remarkably managed somehow to find in themselves the ability to forgive the perpetrator - something that would take a lot of courage and strength.

If it wasn't for organisations like the Sensible Sentencing Trust and victims of crime who are prepared to make a stand then some of the changes we have seen in the justice system over the past decade may not have happened.