Families of murder victims 'need more help'

he law should guarantee that families can bury murder victims within a month, a government commissioner has said.
Louise Casey said swift release of a body should be part of new rights for people bereaved by homicide.
The system should treat families with respect, rather than leaving them "trembling in its wake", she said.
Ms Casey's call comes after Milly Dowler's family criticised how it was treated during her murderer's trial.
Milly's father, Bob, said he felt as if the family had been on trial because of questioning from Levi Bellfield's legal team.
In her report, victims commissioner Ms Casey said the law in England and Wales must recognise the unique situation that families found themselves in when a loved one had been the victim of murder, manslaughter or a road death caused by criminal behaviour.
She said a "victim's law" could ensure that the criminal justice system protects the interests of families, such as through guaranteed meetings with prosecutors at critical stages of the legal process.

Coroners should release a body back to a family within 28 days unless there were exceptional circumstances, she argued.

Ms Casey said: "The way that the system operates can leave families trembling in its wake. Bereaved families lose all control over their loved one as the Crown appropriates the body and determines when it can be returned.
"Their home may become a crime scene, and in the next weeks, months and years, their loved one's death and who was responsible for it, may become the focus of their lives.
"Yet the bereaved family doesn't determine or control any of this. The investigation, trial, verdict and sentence, appeal, parole process all happen around them with the family entitled to some information and some explanation, but little voice, little influence and little power."
'Level up system' Ms Casey said victims should also have a right to copies of a judge's sentencing remarks or trial transcripts. One family told Ms Casey they were given an estimate of £4,500 for a copy of the trial transcript - money they did not have.
Reflecting on the questioning at Levi Bellfield's trial, she said: "If the message that comes out of the Dowler family's case is that 'it's such a horrific experience, don't do it', then actually our system needs to be looked at.
"The system must be levelled up so victims and bereaved families are no longer seen as bystanders or an inconvenience as the wheels of justice turn."
More than 400 families were interviewed as part of a review and Ms Casey said the results showed the "devastating and ongoing" impact of a homicide.
The survey found that the average cost to a family was £37,000, because of loss of earnings or having to move home after a death.
Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the government had increased funding for specialised homicide support workers.
"We can never make things right for families bereaved through crime and it would be foolish to pretend that any level of support could ever achieve this," he said.
"But we can do more to ensure that families get the help they need and that the practical impacts of bereavement are minimised.
"We are working on our review of all victim support arrangements - this will include consideration of victims' services, entitlements and redress, designed to ensure that that our time, money and best efforts are targeted at those in greatest need."

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