Victims

Question 1

What does section 4 of the Victims’ Rights Act 2002 lay out?

Answer 1

This section discusses who is considered a victim

Question 2

Finish the sentence:

Any person who deals with a victim (e.g. police) should…

Answer 2

S7 VRA 2002

(a) Treat the victim with courtesy and compassion and
(b) Respect the victim’s dignity and privacy

Question 3

Which services are victims entitled to?

Answer 3

S8 VRA 2002

Welfare, health, counselling, medical, and legal

Question 4

Do we need to advise victims about court proceedings?

Answer 4

Yes - s12 VRA 2002 says that a victim must be given information about the progress of the offence, charges laid (or reasons for not laying charges), court proceedings, the victim’s role as a witness and name suppression if relevant

Question 5

You attend a serious/sexual assault while on crime squad. At what point do you determine if the offence fits the s29 VRA 2002 criteria?

Answer 5

As soon as practicable after coming into contact with the victim

Question 6

What does s30 VRA 2002 state?

Answer 6

For victims of specified offences (s29), the prosecutor must make all reasonable efforts to ascertain the victims view on bail and communicate this to the court

Question 7

What does s31 VRA 2002 state?

Answer 7

Police must advise a s29 victim of the right to go on the registry and obtain their address so they can receive the appropriate notifications

Question 8

What does s34 VRA 2002 state?

Answer 8

Bail application outcomes

Question 9

When should a victim’s property be returned to them, if held in relation to an offence?

Answer 9

As soon as practicable after it is no longer needed for that purpose

Question 10

What is the victim history scorecard based on?

Answer 10

Seriousness of offences, number of offences, offender recidivism, and repeat crime types

Question 11

What do the three ‘traffic lights’ on the scorecard represent?

Answer 11

Green - lower level victimisation or victimisation(s) that are toward the end of the 12-month victim history
Amber - repeat victimisations or a single serious victimisation
Red - serious victimisations and/or high risk repeat victimisation

Question 12

How long is victimisation history retained?

Answer 12

5 years

Question 13

What is the graduated response model?

Answer 13

The GRM determines the police’s level of response (bronze, silver, gold) the victim may receive. This is done to achieve consistency