Review of victim support
By making sure relevant information and tailored support is available, victims of crime and their relatives will:
- get the right support at the right time
- know what is happening with their case
- understand their rights
- have confidence in the criminal justice system
We are working with our criminal justice partners and victim support organisations to review the support currently available to victims of crime, their families and, in particular, the families of murder victims.
Reports by the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee, and former Solicitor General Dr Lesley Thomson QC, made recommendations for information and support to be provided to victims in a more co-ordinated way.
They proposed introducing a 'single point of contact' or 'one front door' model of support to victims throughout their journey though the criminal justice process.
We are looking at the potential for adopting these models of support for victims and witnesses.
In September 2017, a workshop was held as part of this work. It brought together representatives from across the criminal justice agencies and third sector.
As well as discussing the different models of support, its purpose was to:
- look at the current provision of information and support to victims of crime in Scotland
- highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current provision, and decide where improvements could be made
- assess the practicalities of introducing different models
A report from the workshop was published and will help to shape our next steps.