Victim's Charter
What will happen
Once you have reported a crime
you can expect certain events to occur and support to
be provided.
Click on the links below to find
out about:
Help
from the Police
When you report a crime the police will investigate
it as quickly as possible. If you wish, they can also
give you crime prevention advice for the future. A useful
booklet is 'Your Practical Guide to Crime Prevention'.
You can get this from the Crack Crime team  .
If any of your stolen property is recovered and identified,
the police will return it to you as soon as possible.
If they cannot do so immediately, they will explain
why and tell you when you are likely to get it back.
The police are your main point of contact for information
on what is happening with your case. If they cannot
help you themselves they will put you in touch with
someone who can.
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Victim
Support
Victim Support
is an independent registered charity which receives
financial support from the government. It offers help
to victims of crime. The police tell Victim Support
about most cases (see You
can expect to be offered emotional practical support)
or will ask if you want to be put in touch with Victim
Support.
Victim Support will aim to send you a letter, phone
you or arrange a visit from a volunteer within four
working days of you reporting the crime. Victim Support's
services are free and confidential.
Staff and volunteers come from all sections of the
local community and are specially trained to help victims
of crime. A volunteer will show you an identity card
which is issued by the national office of Victim Support
and approved by the police.
Victim Support offers emotional support to help you
cope with your experience. They also give you practical
help, such as help with claims for insurance or criminal
injuries compensation, and information about other organisations
which may be able to help with specific problems.
You can also get in touch with your local Victim Support
scheme yourself. Details are in the phone book, or you
can contact the national office.
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Compensation
You may be able to get compensation from two sources.
If someone is found guilty, the court must consider
ordering them to pay compensation for any loss, injury
or damage you have suffered. The offender has to pay
compensation before any fine. Compensation is limited
to what the offender can reasonably afford, so may not
cover your loss or injury in full. The compensation
is often paid in instalments.
If you have been injured as a result of a violent crime
you may be able to get compensation under the Criminal
Injuries Compensation Scheme. Someone does not have
to be caught and found guilty for you to be able to
claim compensation.
Details are given in the leaflet 'Victims of Crimes
of Violence - a guide to the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Scheme' .
You can get this from the police or the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Authority.
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What
Happens if Someone is Caught
If someone is caught, the police will decide whether
to caution them or charge them. A formal police caution
is a way of dealing with people who have offended for
the first time or whose offence is not too serious.
When deciding whether to caution someone, the police
will consider the harm done to you and will take your
interests into account.
If the police decide to charge someone the case is
passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The CPS
prosecutes cases in court.
The CPS looks carefully at every case and keeps them
under review. The Crown Prosecutor will decide whether
there is enough evidence for there to be a realistic
prospect of conviction. If there is not, the case will
not go ahead, however serious the offence was. If there
is enough evidence, the Crown Prosecutor will take your
interests into account when considering whether it is
in the public interest for the prosecution to continue.
The Crown Prosecutor may also decide to alter the charges,
depending on the relevant facts in the case.
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Being
a Prosecution Witness
The police will tell you if you need to appear |n court
as a witness. Most cases are dealt with in magistrates'
courts. The more serious offences go to the Crown Court
for trial by jury. There is a separate charter for the
Crown Court, called the 'Charter for Court Users' .
You can get a copy from the Court Service Headquarters.
There is also a growing number of local Charters for
magistrates' courts.
Arranging a court case can be complicated, particularly
if there are a lot of people involved. If the police
have told you that you may be needed as a witness, let
them know if there are any days when it would be difficult
for you to attend court.
Those arranging the case will do their best to make
sure that the case comes to court as quickly as possible
and that it is on a day which is convenient to you.
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Witness
Service
There is a Witness Service in every Crown Court centre.
The Witness Service is run by Victim Support and is
independent of the court, police and CPS. They will
support you and your family and can arrange for you
to visit a courtroom before you give evidence and provide
information on court proceedings. If you wish, they
can arrange for someone to accompany you into the courtroom.
If you are already in contact with Victim Support they
will be able to put you in touch with the Witness Service.
You will receive the Witness Service leaflet 'Going
to Court'
or a letter when you are called to give evidence. You
can also get copies from your local Victim Support scheme
or the national office of Victim Support.
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Help
at Court
Giving evidence in court can be stressful. The people
involved - the police. the CPS, the Witness Service
and court staff - will give you as much information
as possible about what is likely to happen. However,
they cannot discuss your evidence or the details of
the case.
You will be sent a letter telling you where and when
the trial will be. With this letter there will be a
leaflet called 'Witness in Court'
which explains what will happen.
You will also receive information about the court facilities.
Crown Court centres have a Customer Service Officer
who you can ask about facilities at the court If you
are going to a magistrates' court and you have any questions
about the facilities, you should contact the police,
who will put you in touch with the court.
When you arrive, you will find clear signs to help
you find your way around. A representative of the CPS
or Witness Service will tell you which courtroom your
evidence will be heard in. The CPS representative will
also be able to deal with any questions you have about
procedures and tell you approximately how long you will
have to wait before giving your evidence.
Everyone will do their best to make sure that you are
called to give evidence as soon as possible. However,
there are sometimes delays. If you have to wait, court
staff or a representative of the CPS will tell you why
and say how long the wait is likely to be.
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Special
Help for Certain Types of Witness
Children
If children are witnesses in cases involving sex, violence
or cruelty, the police will give them and their parents
or carers an information pack called 'Child Witness'
.
You can get further copies from the NSPCC.
Many Crown Court centres have special facilities so
that, where appropriate, children can give their evidence
from a private room over a TV link with the courtroom.
When a case is sent for trial from a magistrates' court
the CPS can ask for it to be sent to a Crown Court with
this equipment. This may mean travelling to a court
which is less convenient.
Crown Court centres have a Child Witness Officer to
answer questions about the facilities at the court and
court procedures. They will liaise with the judge and
the court staff to make sure that the case comes to
court as soon as possible.
If a TV link is to be used, the Child Witness Officer
will explain how the equipment works. When the child
arrives at court to give evidence, the officer will
take the child to a private waiting area away from the
defendants.
In Fear of Attack
If you are worried about being attacked or harassed
as a result of the court case, you should tell the police.
They will tell you what can be done and tell the CPS
so that they can let the court know at the time bail
is being considered.
If the accused person is released on bail, the police
will do their best to tell you as quickly as possible.
They will tell you whether there are any conditions
attached to the bail and what you can do if the conditions
are broken.
When you give evidence, the judge or magistrate may
agree that your name and address should not be read
out in court. They may also allow you to give evidence
from behind a screen. It is up to the judge or magistrates
to decide whether to allow this to happen. If you want
these arrangements to be considered, you should tell
the police or the CPS.
Rape and Sexual Assault
If you have been raped or sexually assaulted your identity
will not be revealed in court. It is also a criminal
offence for anyone to publish your name, address, photograph
or other details which may identify you.
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What
Happens in Court
If you have to give evidence you can ask to have a
friend or supporter in the court. Someone from the Witness
Service can accompany you if you wish. After you have
given evidence you will be told whether you can leave.
You can watch the rest of the case if you wish.
A high standard of proof is needed before someone can
be found guilty. This may mean someone who you are sure
is guilty is not actually found guilty. This is not
a judgment on you but on the strength of the prosecution
case as a whole.
When someone is found guilty their lawyer may put forward
arguments for a lighter sentence. This is called a plea
in mitigation. If this includes information which the
CPS know is untrue they will say so.
Before sentence is passed the magistrates or judge
may ask the probation service to prepare a 'pre-sentence
report' on the offender. The report will include an
assessment of the effect the crime had on you. This
may be taken from witness statements you may have given
which are provided to the probation service by the CPS.
In certain limited cases, the Attorney General may
refer cases, where the sentence passed in the Crown
Court is unduly lenient, to the Court of Appeal. This
must be done within 28 days of the sentence being passed.
If you believe that the sentence has been unduly lenient,
you can discuss this with the local office of the CPS,
who have put in place systems by which potentially unduly
lenient sentences can be brought to the attention of
the Attorney General.
If there is an appeal against the conviction or sentence
in a case where someone has been killed, raped or sexually
assaulted, the police will keep you informed of developments.
They will tell you the date of the hearing, if someone
is granted bail, and the result of the appeal.
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After
the Court Case
If you are still worried about your safety the police
can give you advice on what to do to protect yourself.
Where appropriate, the police may be able to give you
practical help.
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Victim
Helpline
If a prisoner contacts you and you do not want this
to happen again, or if you have any concerns about possible
release, you can use a phone helpline to make sure that
the prison governor knows your concerns. The helpline
number is 0345 585112.
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Information
about the Release of Prisoners
In life sentence cases and other cases involving serious
sexual or violent offences, the probation service will
get in touch with you within two months of the sentence
being passed to ask if you want to be told about any
plans for releasing the prisoner.
They will explain what happens during the sentence
and especially how any decision to release the offender
will be made. No life sentence prisoner will be released
until they have served the period set for retribution
and deterrence and the Home Secretary, in the case of
murderers, or the Parole Board, for other life sentence
prisoners, is satisfied that it is safe to do so.
When release is being considered, the probation service
make careful plans and arrangements for supervising
offenders. The probation service will take your concerns
into account when making their plans. The offender may
still be released, but conditions may be attached to
their release.
If the offender behaves in a way which suggests that
they may present a risk to public safety, or they break
any conditions attached to their release, they may go
back to prison.
Offenders who are detained in hospital will only be
discharged if a full and careful assessment shows that
the person is no longer a risk to the public. As a general
rule, a patient's treatment and progress in hospital
are confidential and, unless the patient consents to
information being given out, this limits the information
you can receive about an offender's release.
More detail about life sentences for murder and offenders
detained in hospital after committing homicide is given
in the pack 'Information for Families of Homicide Victims'
.
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