Victims of Crime                              

Working with the Victims of Crime

In Community Safety Basics we have identified how the victim is at the heart of both community safety and crime prevention through the descriptive analytical tool of the the PAT Triangle. But the relationships of the victim to the crime/crimes is complex. It is well understood that in English law the victim has, since at least the 12th century, had a symbolic and strictly limited role in court procedures.

It is only in the late 20th century that the victim's role has been expanded to include an understanding of the actual personal issues experienced by the victim - through reparation and restorative justice programmes and through victim impact assessments. This is significantly different from the approach taken in some other countries  - especially Muslim ones - where the victim and the victims family's needs are at the centre of both the court process and the resolution and settlement of the problems generated by the crime.

Working with victims is both important in terms of mitigating the impact of the crime. It can offer skilled services to enable victim recovery from the incident and in terms of crime prevention - offering opportunities for increased physical and emotional resilience. This can be done by providing security advice to vulnerable victims (such as older people - see Help the Aged and the mentally or physically impaired) or by the provision of responsible neighbour programmes - developing programmes to engage active neighbours as the identified link to those less able in the neighbourhood.

CDRP's Role in Strategic Management of Victim Services

Targeted protective and supportive services should be provided for the victims of crime in each local area; however it is easy for such services, in the competition with offender based services (the police, courts, probation service etc) to either get overlooked or marginalised. An effective Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership should include an audit of such services in its ongoing strategic assessment. This should be done to ensure that adequate services are being provided in an efficient and effective way - and where (for instance within a rural crime context) it is not financially viable to provide a local victim support centre it is possible to identify the need and then redirect services from being centre based to outreach based.

Victim Services

The range of victim services include Victim Support (England and Wales)  - which provides anything from a letter to the victims offering advice and guidance to intervention in the lives of victims. This is done through counselling and through witness support programmes. The VS scheme is a good example of a victim centred service but other, more specialist, services are provided; such as those for the victims of domestic violence, hate crime. Additionally these can include specialist services for those with physical or mental restrictions and imparements (see above) and those who are Repeat Victims.

There have been is an increasing awareness of the problems faced by victims within the court process and the code of practice for criminal justice services working with the victims of crime Victims of Crime: Your rights  (English and Welsh CJS) National Standards for Victims of Crime in Scotland are intended to ensure a standard and supportive response to victims needs by the criminal justice system. Victim-Witness support programmes are most extensively developed in the US being sponsored by a Federal programme (see the Victim Witness Program) in the UK projects tend to be local initiative based (other than those specifically established for vulnerable witnesses link to police protection) and tend to be either linked to a local initiative or to a local Victim Support programme of activity.

Restorative Justice

Restorative Justice provides  victims with the chance to tell offenders the real impact of their crime, to get answers to their questions and to receive an apology. It provides offenders with the chance to understand the actual impact of what they have done and to do something to repair the harm. Restorative Justice holds offenders to account for what they have done, personally and directly, and helps victims to get on with their lives.

It can take place when the offender has already been sentenced, in prison or in the community. It can take place when an offender has pleaded guilty in court, but before the judge passes sentence. It can be used as an alternative to prosecution for less serious crimes. See below for links.

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  Victims of Crime Links

Victim Support and Advice: Home Office    

Information on the help and support that's available if you've been a victim of a crime.

Victim Support Scotland   

Offers support to victims and witnesses of crime including directory of local contacts, helpline information etc.

Victim Support : England and Wales   

The website describes the work of Victim Support, the national charity for people affected by crime.

Victim Support London

The home page of the London Victim Support service 

International Victimology Website  

The International Victimology Website facilitates the implementation of the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power.

Repeat Victimisation    

A Home Office 'toolkit' giving the background to victimisation, an analysis of the issues and local solutions.

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 Restorative Justice Links

Restorative Justice Consortium England and Wales 

Home page of the English and Welsh co-ordinating organisation for restorative justice  

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