Cost of family bereavement through criminal acts revealed

New figures have revealed the cost of legal service for families bereaved through serious criminal acts.

Louise Casey, commissioner for victims and witnesses, published the results which showed that families of the bereaved pay between £280 and £150,000 on legal costs.

This including work carried out by lawyers on estate settlement and residency applications.

The figures came as a result of a survey of 36 families who had lost someone through murder, manslaughter or culpable road death.

It comes ahead of the commissioner's review to the justice secretary of the support currently available to families.

Ms Casey is expected to emphasise the need for current legal services to be better targeted at those who need them the most.

She also noted that families affected by serious criminal acts are more likely to be poor and therefore unable to cope with the financial pressures which accompany bereavement in this way.

In her role, the commissioner promotes the interests of victims and witnesses across the criminal justice system and in government.

Published by Rob Stanworth