Victims’ rights

If you have been a victim of crime, we promise to:

• treat you with fairness, dignity and respect
• give you clear and relevant information about your case
• keep you informed about progress on your case
• tell you if we are not able to take the case forward for any reason

Once you have reported the crime, a police officer will be given your case. They will be your main point of contact and will give you updates at least once a month until the case is closed.

You will be given a crime reference number so we can quickly identify your case.

You are entitled to be informed of a decision:

• to prosecute the suspect
• to give the suspect an out of court disposal, such as any caution given by the police
• not to prosecute the suspect

A Victim Personal Statement (VPS) gives you an opportunity to explain in your own words how the crime has affected you, whether physically, emotionally, financially or in any other way.

The VPS is an official document that will become part of the file relating to your case. If you wish to make a VPS, please tell the officer dealing with your case or your allocated Witness Care Officer.

As part of the investigation, we look at all the information available including forensic and any visual or audio evidence.

If appropriate, we will send a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) to look for any useful forensic material, such as fingerprints or DNA. To find out more about Crime Scene Investigators have a look at the information on forensic service’s on the College of Policing website.

If you have been told a CSI is going to attend to examine your property (this may be your home, your car or your business) it is important not to touch or move anything.

If there are no immediate lines of enquiry, your case will be investigated with other, similar cases. Often, by identifying patterns and similarities within batches of crime we are able to find the offenders, recover stolen property and stop the problem.

When the police have finished their investigation, they can pass the information to Crown Prosecution Service who will decide if there is enough evidence to take the case to court.

If you do have to go to court to be a witness, a witness liaison officer will contact you to let you know.

Our liaison unit take care of victims from the point where someone is charged with the crime through to the end of the court case.

Special measures are options that are available to help vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence in court. If you would like to know further information, speak to the officer dealing with your case or the Witness Care Officer.

If you feel you need additional support following a crime, Lighthouse can help.

Lighthouse is a multi-agency team of Police staff and independent support organisations working together to provide information, advice and support to victims of crime. You can ask the officer dealing with your case about this service and they can arrange a referral.

Alternatively, you can visit www.lighthousevictimcare.org to find support available in your local area.

If you have been a victim of a violent offence, you may be eligible for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

To find out more, visit Criminal Injuries Compensation Guide.

There are times when the investigation will have to be closed. This happens when no further lines of enquiry are found and no further information is available. However, this does not mean that the case is forgotten.

If we receive further information at a later date, we will review your case and may be able to solve the crime.