CJS working together for the public

Reporting the Crime

If you have been a victim of crime, you should report the crime to the police. By reporting what has happened to you it will mean that the person who committed the crime may be caught and prevented from doing the same thing to someone else. If the police know of the problem they can help to reassure and advise you on crime prevention matters.

Depending on the nature of the offence you may wish to speak to someone else as well as the police about what has happened and how you are feeling right now as generally people find it helpful to do so. There is plenty of support out there - more than you might think - and everyone involved in tackling crime is determined to do more to help victims.

You do have the choice whether or not to report the crime, but it is in your interests and those of your local community to report it and there are a number of ways in which you can do so. These include:

• in an emergency, Dialling 999
• popping in to your local police station or calling the number in the local telephone directory
• or Online at www.online.police.uk (for minor crimes only)

Victim Support

In some cases, you may be thinking of not reporting the crime because you are afraid of giving evidence in court. If the suspect is caught and pleads guilty there may not be a trial at all and you may not have to give evidence, as where there is strong evidence against them, their solicitor may advise them to plead guilty.

If you do give evidence in court, the Witness Service, which is run by Victim Support is on hand to provide practical and emotional support before, during and after your time at court. A member of the Witness Service can accompany you into court and support you during breaks and after you have finished.

They will listen to how you are feeling and to any concerns that you have and provide practical help where they can. Where they cannot, they may be able to put you in touch with someone else who can. If you are worried about having to give evidence you may also want to look at the Going to Court section of this tour.

You may also think the police will not care about the crime. It is important that you report all crimes, because if the police do not know where crimes are happening they cannot take any action to prevent further incidents or catch the person responsible. However for some types of crime, once you have reported the details over the telephone or at the police station, there will be no further investigation.

This is not because the police do not care about what has happened to you, as the police will assess whether they are likely to be able to obtain evidence by additional enquiries. If it is not likely, then the crime is recorded and you will be provided with a crime reference number either at the time or by post. If the crime is serious or you are suffering from repeated problems then further enquiries will be made.

You may also feel the crime is too trivial to report, although it may be a minor crime, it can still be very upsetting. The police understand this and will take you seriously. Reporting something which you think is trivial will enable police to note any trends. For example, levels of car vandalism in a particular area.

Explaining what happened may be difficult and sometimes you may feel embarrassed about reporting crimes, especially those which are sensitive to you. The police will treat you with consideration and will not judge you whatever your gender, sexual orientation, or race. They recognise that being a victim of a crime can be traumatic and they have officers who are trained specifically for dealing with sensitive cases.

Usually, you will be able to choose whether you wish to speak to a female or male officer. You may find that talking to someone else about what has happened may help and there are a number of independent specialist support organisations that will listen and support you.

Whether or not you have chosen to report the crime, Victim Support, which is an independent national charity, can help you to cope with the crime. Victim Support volunteers are specially trained to help you through this experience and to provide you with emotional and practical help and information. A volunteer can visit you in your home if you would like, or you can drop into their centre.