Delivering effective multi-agency work for victims and witnesses of crime

Abstract

This article explores recent changes within the field of victim and witness services, and uses this to provide a background to the work of the Victims and Witnesses Action Group (VWAG) in the English city of Leicester. Issues raised included the difficulties of partnership working in terms of breakdowns in communication, competition for funding and what happens when dedicated staff leave. Suggestions will be made regarding the work of multi-agency services to victims and witnesses in the future, such as setting out clear aims that are achievable within the resources available and having a clear link person in place to aid communication.This article will explore recent changes within the field of victim and witness services, and will use this to provide a background to the work of the Victims and Witnesses Action Group in Leicester. It will go on to look at the increase in the use of partnership working within the field of social care and regeneration, and how the benefits and drawbacks of this method of working may have had an impact on VWAG, as found by the evaluation of VWAG carried out in 2005. Suggestions will be made regarding the provision of multi-agency services to victims and witnesses in the future.

Co-operation or unification: Is the future of police multi-agency working simply to become one agency?

“…Only those officers who deal with murder, stabbings and other serious violence as well as drugs supply can now realistically say they are solely dedicated to crime, and operate in what could be described as a singularly law-enforcement capacity. Even then, there is a requirement to manage threats to life concerns and protection of vulnerable witnesses requiring multiagency approaches involving charity and statutory bodies (Dandurand and Farr, 2010) (Fleming, et al, 2006) Unification -A single agency safeguarding hub?…”