Victims in the criminal justice system – Phase II

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1 - Victim Issues in Call Grading Policies

Chief Constables should ensure that police forces call grading and attendance policies explicitly identify victim vulnerability and risk as factors to be considered when determining the appropriate call grading and resultant police attendance.

Recommendation 2 - Repeat Victimisation

Chief Constables should ensure that police forces develop and implement repeat victimisation strategies that will provide a co-ordinated response to the needs of repeat victims of crimes.

Recommendation 3 - Service Standards for Feedback to Victims of Crime

Chief Constables should ensure that police forces set, publish and deliver clear service standards for proactively updating victims of crime.

Recommendation 4 - ACPOS Integrated Information Management System

Chief Constables, through ACPOS Business Change and working with the Scottish Police Services Authority, should ensure that the national crime recording application being developed as part of the ACPOS Information Management Project is designed and developed to include appropriate tools and applications to support services to victims including the management of updates.

Recommendation 5 - Victim Marker on SPR

Chief Constables, through the ACPOS Criminal Justice Business Area and COPFS should amend the format of the Standard Police Report to include a tag or marker that identifies a victim of crime in the report and differentiates them from other witnesses.

Recommendation 6 - Victim Impact Information

Chief Constables and COPFS should introduce procedures to ensure that victim impact information can be captured and provided for all cases.

Recommendation 7 - COPFS Website - Consolidation of Available Information

That COPFS consolidates the material available to victims on the COPFS website or removes older out-of-date material.

Recommendation 8 - Improving Countermand Letters

That COPFS includes a sentence in countermand letters advising recipients that they either will not (eg accused has pled guilty), or may be required to attend on a future date.

Recommendation 9 - COPFS Information Provision to Victims of Crime

COPFS should ensure that it proactively provides all victims with the information they need when they need it.

Recommendation 10 - Monitoring of Court Churn

COPFS should improve their IT system to allow for analysis of victim/witness attendance at court.

Recommendation 11 - COPFS - Information to Victims on Outcome of Case

COPFS should inform victims of crime of the outcome of their case at the conclusion of proceedings.

Recommendation 12 - Protocol for Release of Productions

Chief Constables and COPFS should develop and implement a formal agreement that details clear procedures to ensure the efficient return of property to victims and owners after the conclusion of a case. This agreement should clearly define the respective roles and responsibilities of police forces and local Procurator Fiscal Offices.

SUGGESTIONS

Suggestion 1 - Police Recording of Contact with Victims of Crime

Chief Constables should introduce policies that will ensure that all contact between police forces and a victim of crime is recorded.

Suggestion 2 - Enquiry Point Telephone Number

COPFS should add the phone numbers for Enquiry Point to the Being a Witness booklet.

Suggestion 3 - Monitoring of Referrals to VIA

COPFS should consider enhancing its IT to enable accurate monitoring of referrals to VIA where a legal member of staff believes the victim would benefit from VIA involvement.

Suggestion 4 - Victim Vulnerability Policies

Chief Constables and COPFS should continue to promote policies aimed at supporting vulnerable victims of crime and should monitor their use and effectiveness.