Nobody ever wants to be a victim, and hopefully we will never be faced with the pain or trauma of a crime being committed against us, or the aftermath. However, if we are, no matter how powerless we may feel, we still have rights.
If you're uncertain about which legal protections apply to your specific circumstances, you can use our free Rights Situation Checker.
Reporting a Crime
When you report a crime to the Police they have to abide by the very strict ‘Code of Practice for Victims of Crime’. Among other things this code ensures that you will be informed, within 5 days of your report, whether or not they intend to pursue an investigation.
If they do decide to investigate then you, as the victim, have the right to be informed of their progress on a monthly basis, at the very minimum, until they have finished their investigation. Similarly, if anyone is arrested and/or charged, then you have the right to be informed straight away.
If that person is then released on bail you have the right to know within 5 days, within a day if you are considered to be in danger.
If they do not investigate, or their investigation does not lead to a conviction that you are happy with then you have the right to take out a private prosecution but this is very expensive and you must make sure you take legal advice first.
Protection
Once you have reported the crime against you then there are many ways in which you, and your family, are entitled to be protected from intimidation or further offences by the criminal in question (or their friends and family). If the particular offender has a history of intimidating witnesses, or a string of other offences to their name, then the Police can decide to provide you with dedicated emergency phones, panic alarms and 24 hour surveillance of your home. If there is a proven danger to you or your family’s safety then they can also provide you with long or short term safe-housing or even change your identity and relocate you to a new life.
Victim Support
There can be nothing as distressing as being a victim of a crime, especially if that crime is violent in nature. The Code that the Police have to follow includes referring your case to the Witness Service and they can provide a dedicated counsellor who will help you deal with the feelings of powerlessness, anger or shock that can follow. You do not have to use this service but they are there to help you deal with what has happened, their expertise is invaluable and, no matter how tough you may think you are, it always helps to talk to someone.
Describe what has happened and find out which UK human rights protections apply and what you can do.
Try our Rights Situation Checker free, here on this site →Privacy from the Press
You may think that the crime against you was stressful enough, but this could be compounded by unwanted media interest. The Police may release details of the case to the media, in order to help themselves investigate the offence, but if this worried you then you have the right to tell them that you would rather your name was kept out of it. If the crime against you was sexual in nature then it becomes a criminal offence for anyone to release your details, nor are they permitted to release details of minors that may be involved, even peripherally.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
What About Freedom of the Press?
While the media does have a right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights, they have a responsibility towards you and your family to respect your private life and that of your family. The Convention does not give them free reign; it balances the two needs to, hopefully, the satisfaction of everybody.
The Crown Prosecution Service
As a victim you will have no say in how a prosecution is handled, no input into the decisions made and no right to appeal if they decide not to prosecute the offender. What you do have is a right to be informed, within 5 days, of any decision that makes a significant difference to the way in which the case is handled. You could be informed by letter, phone or, if the offence relates to a death, child abuse, racially-based offences or sexual offences, by face-to-face meeting.
In Court
You may have reported the crime that started the ball rolling but in Court you will not be a party to the proceedings, this is the sole arena of the Prosecution and Defence Counsel. You will have no right to representation and no legal status. You do have rights in relation to compensation orders, reparation and mitigation and, of course, the full support of the witness service.
So, I went to the police station after not hearing anything more about it. The Sergeant on the desk was surprised when he looked at the file. He said my name was not even mentioned. The burglar visits other tenants at the block of flats to intimidate and harass me. Again the police don't seem to be concerned about this. It seems that the burglar and his friends are pally with the Community Support Officers in the area and they tell her I have paranoid episodes. I don't but I don't have much corroborative witnesses, being new to the area.
That none of these people (who are identity thieves, hence the need to keep me isolated, so they can swing it in the numbers game) have got any training or qualifications doesn't seem to matter. It's like, if you say it enough times it must be true. If I report the abuse, the police knock MY door.
I am getting increasingly frustrated. I wish I never involved the police at all and just took care of the matter myself.
im a victim of a knife point robbery and will be attending court soon..
my question is im very scared to give evidance and my main concern is my name being printed in the press as this will shame my family and community.
do victims names always get published online?
i have requested reporting restrictions but i not sure on the outcome..
thanks
Thanks in advance
. Local Authorities
. G.P (S)
. A certain Residential Judge
. Lawyer
I no longer have any trust in all of the above, for what they all have done is just unbelievable. These people can and have abused their power of authority.
Who do we turn when all else fails?, Who should we be trusting to protect us? The Justice system we do have is failing and turning a blind eye.
Complication: my husband has a record for driving offence etc when he was younger. But years clear since.
He was driving a TFL registered vehicle, hired from a hire company. He was working on the Uber platform.
The vehicle was supposed to be insured by the hire company for working as a cab (hire & reward insurance). When he went to pick up the car, all the paperwork was ready to sign- the hire agreement clearly stated the 'lessor' will organise the insurance. He had a copy of the insurance to keep in the car as required for a cab. They even had helped him upload the documents to his uber account from their computer. (insurance documents etc). He paid deposit and had been paying weekly rental.
At the time the police stopped him, they said the insurance was not right and he was not properly insured. Apparently the insurance only covered the 'employees' of the hire company to drive. They took the car and his phone. They said once the car is picked up, they will return his phone. The next day the hire company sent someone to pick the car up and my husband went to get his phone. They told him his going to be charged for no insurance while driving.
Today we find out the sergeant is also planning to do him for fraud. So the hire company said that they gave the car to him for him to sort his own insurance. And the insurance copy my husband has is not like the original copy (which they gave to police) and that he must have 'tipp-exd' out something about 'drive away & employees bit.
Now my husband only has the the hire agreement which clearly states they are to sort the insurance (and they themselves admit it is a tfl registered vehicle for hire). Yet they say it was agreed for him to get insurance? The insurance document was a copy and there is noway my husband could see that it was interfered with.
So they hire company is basically saying my husband tipp-exed out THEIR insurance document so he could drive a uber car.
He went to them specifically as they deal with taxi drivers hiring to work on the uber platform and paid them weekly for a Uber vehicle insured and everything so it was less hassle for him. He even asked them he only wanted for a month just to see if it was worth ubering. They allowed it.
My husband is currently doing the knowledge of london. And this was a way to earn money, free up time and help him with the knowledge while his out on the road. There is no way we would risk anything to have his license revoked, tfl license. The initial solicitor has said he can't get legal aid. Problem is he has done nothing wrong and to avoid a heavy sentence his been told to plead guilty.... to fraud and no insurance! Which means his knowledge and everything he uses to work is gone. We want to fight this as it is this com
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