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Feasibility Study for a victim and witness support service
in Scotland
2 Victim and witness needs
2.1.1 The study includes victims and witnesses with all degrees of need. Some
victims and witnesses may be vulnerable due to age (children and elderly people),
physical capacity (people who are physically disabled or disadvantaged), mental
capacity (people who are suffering from mental illness or have learning difficulties),
belonging to an ethnic minority, or who speak English only as a second language.
2.1.2 It is important to note that in addition, victims and witnesses may be
vulnerable for a variety of less obvious reasons; they may be socially disadvantaged,
have a low level of educational attainment, be unemployed, suffering from depression
or extreme anxiety, suffering from ill-health, or have any of a number of other
needs. The stereotypical view that only women and children are vulnerable is
entirely inappropriate.
2.1.3 For the purposes of analysis, the victim and witness needs identified
in this study can be categorised into six broad types; these are the needs for:
-
physical protection and security
-
information throughout the criminal justice process
-
emotional and counselling support
-
courtesy, respect, and sensitivity to the experience they have lived
through
-
assistance in coping with physical disability, speech or hearing impairment,
language or cultural differences
-
comfort - to be addressed when, for example, attending court.
2.1.4 In addition, there is a less well defined need, for many victims of crime
and some witnesses - to make an active contribution to the decision-making in
the criminal justice process; their experience of the crime is often one of
having control taken away from them, and to an extent, they can feel the need
for an active role in the criminal justice process to redress the balance and
restore their control over their own lives.
2.1.5 Table 1 (on following page) provides a summary, based on the research
in this study, of the different types of need which can be identified at different
stages in the criminal justice process. These are shown here as falling within
just three main stages of the process - pre-trial, trial and post trial.
2.1.6 There are examples of good practice where these identified needs are
being met, but it was the task of this study to examine critically the services
offered to victims and witnesses in order to identify gaps in service delivery.
The analysis looked at two groups of stages:
-
pre-trial and post trial - the periods where the victim or witness is not
directly involved in the trial, but has particular needs, for example, for
personal safety, information, or counselling and support
-
the period immediately leading up to the trial, and the days at trial themselves.
Table 1. Summary of needs at different stages of the criminal justice process
|
Type of need
|
Pre-Trial
|
Trial
|
Post-Trial
|
|
Physical protection and security
|
Medical attention; appropriate forensic examination
Physical security, crime prevention
Police protection; Freedom from attack or intimidation in the community
Secure accommodation, re-housing
|
Freedom from attack or intimidation in and around the court
Physical segregation from accused and family
Protection measures during presentation of evidence - CCTV, screens etc
|
Freedom from attack or intimidation in the community
|
|
Information
|
Information about reporting the crime
Contact information re support agencies and services
Information about the criminal justice process
Information about case progress, accused status
Information about precognition
Clear information about attending court
Familiarisation visit to court
|
Information about the court and facilities, the process on the day; familiarisation
with the procedure
Information about progress on the day, waiting time
Contact with the Fiscal and/or advocate depute
Information about claiming expenses, return of belongings
|
Information about the verdict, sentence, location of the offender and
release date
|
|
Emotional and counselling support
|
Provision of support, reassurance, objective and independent advice,
assistance, and opportunity to talk
Specialist support and counselling
Access to Fiscal or staff to talk through implications of decisions made
Assistance with making insurance and criminal injuries claims
|
Support, reassurance, opportunity to talk, assistance.
Specialist support and counselling
|
Provision of support, reassurance, advice, assistance, and opportunity
to talk
Specialist support and counselling
Participation in the victim notification scheme
|
|
Courtesy, respect & sensitivity
|
Use of specialist officers for investigation, working to agreed procedures
Courteous and sensitive treatment by the police, Fiscal and defence agent
Minimisation of number of interviews
|
Courteous and sensitive treatment by Court staff, Fiscal or advocate
depute, and sheriff or judge
Questions to be asked in objective, courteous way, in clear language
Reduction in unnecessary formality in the court
|
Courteous and sensitive treatment by the Scottish Prison Service, Parole
Board, and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Belongings returned promptly and sensitively
|
|
Physical need
|
Appropriate choice of location for precognition or investigative interviews
Use of interpreter, leaflets in ethnic languages, sensitivity over choice
of location for interview, etc
|
Physical access, use of interpreters, explanation of process
|
Use of an interpreter to explain results after court hearing
|
|
Comfort
|
|
Minimising waiting times and number of changes to trial dates; taking
account of commitments
Payment of expenses and loss of earnings for attendance throughout trial,
if victim chooses
Clean, comfortable facilities, reading materials, refreshments, toilet
facilities
Opportunity to be segregated from other witnesses
Place of refuge and privacy nearby
Allocated seating in courtroom
|
Place of refuge and privacy nearby
|
|
Contribution to the decision making process
|
Opportunity to express view on matters concerned with the criminal process
- bail, decision to no pro, acceptance of a lesser plea
|
Opportunity to express view on dates of adjournment
Opportunity to express view on matters concerned with out-of-court decisions
- plea to lesser charge;
Impact of crime on victim to be recognised
Impact of disruptive participants to be recognised
|
Opportunity to provide feedback on process
Opportunity to express a view on parole decision, licence conditions
|
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