If you report a crime to the police you can expect:
- the police to investigate the crime;
- in most cases, to be contacted by Victim Support - unless you ask the police not to pass on your details;*
- to be told by the police if someone is charged with, or cautioned for, the offence;
- to be told (if you ask to be) by the police or the Crown Prosecution Service if the charge is later dropped or downgraded;
- if you are needed as a witness, to be given a 'Witness in Court' leaflet, and told the date of the trial;
- if the case goes to court, consideration to be given to making a compensation order in your favour;
- to be told (if you ask to be) the result of the court case; in more serious cases, to be told (if you ask to be) the result of any appeal against conviction or sentence;
- to be given advice about applying for compensation for personal injury from the criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and
- to be given crime prevention advice if you ask for it.
* Not all categories of crime are routinely referred to Victim Support by the police
To help make this possible, you should:
- report the crime to the police promptly;
- give the police full details of your injury or loss;
- tell the police if you want compensation;
- tell the police if you fear for your (or your family's) safety;
- tell the police if you do not want them to tell Victim Support or the press;
- tell the police of any changes of address while the case remains unresolved; and contact Victim Support directs if you want to.
What Happens Next?
The police will try to catch the criminal but they may not always succeed. If they do have a suspect, there may not be enough evidence to charge the person or, if the person is young or mentally disordered, and the offence is not too serious, the police may decide to caution him or her instead. In some cases the suspect may be facing more serious charges for other offences and may be prosecuted for those offences instead.
If the police decide to charge someone the case is taken over by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), an independent authority, which prosecutes in the name of the Queen. They decide whether there is enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and whether prosecution would be in the public interest. The CPS does not act directly on behalf of individual victims or represent them in criminal proceedings, but it does carefully consider the interests of victims when deciding where the public interest lies.
The Press
The Press can play an important role in tackling crime. For the purposes of investigating an offence, catching criminals or for crime prevention, the police may release details of a case to the Press. If you are concerned about this happening, tell the police officer dealing with the case.
Going to Court
For the reasons mentioned above, many cases never reach court. Of those that do the great majority are dealt with by magistrates' courts. The most serious cases have to be sent to the Crown Court for trial by jury.
If your case goes to court and you are needed as a witness:
- You will be sent a copy of the leaflet 'Witness in Court' which will explain what is likely to happen.
- You should let the police know if there are any days you could not manage to attend court - for instance, because of important job or professional commitments, or because you have a holiday booked. If possible, these dates will then be avoided although there may be times when the case has to go ahead even though this may not be convenient for individual witnesses.
- The aim is that prosecution witnesses do not have to wait more than two hours before being called to give evidence.
- Arrangements will be made to provide an interpreter if you are called to give evidence and are unable to give it in English.
- If you are not needed as a witness the police will try to keep you informed about hearing dates (there could be several such dates if, for example, cases are delayed or postponed). They will also try to keep you informed of the results of the cases.
Victim Support
Victim Support offer a free, confidential service to victims of crime. Trained volunteers based in local schemes contact people following a crime to offer free, confidential support and information.
Victim Support is an independent national charity.
People are referred to Victim Support by the police and other organisations, or make direct contact themselves to ask for help.
Visit www.victimsupport.org.uk for more information.
Support for Victims and Witnesses
The Safer Doncaster Partnership recognises that it is important to support victims and witnesses of crime, both in order to try to make them feel safe despite their experiences, and to support them through the process of going through legal proceedings. In Doncaster a range of voluntary sector agencies have many years experience of providing support to victims and witnesses, and they work alongside statutory agencies to ensure a seamless service for victims.
In particular, two new services have recently been established to support high risk victims of Domestic Violence, and Sexual Violence the Independent Domestic Violence Advocate, and Independent Sexual Violence Advocate work with victims from the first report, through the court process and beyond, providing practical and emotional support, and bringing together all agencies with the aim of reducing the risk to victims and their families. For more information on Domestic Violence please visit the following page: Domestic Violence
Other agencies providing support to victims and witnesses in Doncaster are:
- The Doncaster Branch of Victim Support South Yorkshire provides support to victims of all types of crime www.victimsupport.org/vs_england_wales/contacts/south_yorkshire/index.php
- Doncaster Women's Aid providing specialist support to women who have experienced domestic violence. www.womensaid.org.uk
- Doncaster Rape and Sexual Abuse Counselling Centre, within which the Independent Sexual Violence Advocate is based, provides counselling and support to those affected by sexual offences. For further information please call 01302 360421
- Remedi provides a mediation service for victims and offenders and education projects with young people www.remedi.org.uk
- Support for victims of anti-social behaviour is offered by an innovative new project being managed by Victim Support and Remedi jointly, and funded by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. Victim Support have a dedicated support worker for anti-social behaviour, and Remedi offer a mediation service. Both agencies also deliver education projects to schools around anti-social behaviour issues.
