Drawing on a series of qualitative interviews carried out with legal practitioners and court personnel at three criminal courts in the north of England and representatives of relevant central government departments, this article examines the process of implementing a national strategy to put victims 'at the heart' of the criminal justice system in the local context. It examines the extent to which such ideas apply to the local implementation of policies impacting upon victims of crime in the criminal justice system over the last decade. It is argued that central government has demanded significant changes in practice amongst local agencies without providing any additional resources. The data sheds light on the process of implementing central government policy in the context of local criminal justice, with particular reference to the development of local governance in this area. Victims of crime have comes a long way in British policymaking over the last decade. However, setting performance targets does not fulfill the government's obligation to provide the victim-centered model of criminal justice that has been promised. More investigation is needed in this and other areas of policymaking to determine the extent to which government has truly given way to governance. Notes and references