The Criminal Justice System

When a crime has occurred, depending on the crime, an officer will attend to do any or all or the following:

• Caution, Arrest or provide advice to individual who has been accused of or is deemed by the officer to have committed a crime
• Collect some of the initial information about the crime, this may be speaking to witnesses and victims
• Preserve and gather evidence
• Provide victim or witness support

Following this, in criminal cases (not everything attended by police is criminal, for example simple traffic offences), an officer will further investigate the crime, during investigation they will build what is known as a ‘casefile’ which is the documentation that is used to determine, through various processes, the outcome of the case. There is more detail about this in the ‘charging a suspect’ section.

Learn more about the investigation process.

Victim and witness support

As above, in some cases there will be victims of and witnesses to a crime. Part of an officer’s duty is to provide initial support and signpost victims and witnesses to where they can get further support. They should also inform the victim about what may happen with the case, agree on how regularly they will be in contact, and provide them with a handbook, which provides information for victim and witnesses.

If you have been the victim of a crime, there are set of rights, called the Victims Code of Practice (VCOP) which set out the minimum standard that organisations must provide to victims of crime.

There are 12 rights:

1. To be able to understand and to be understood
2. To have the details of the crime recorded without unjustified delay
3. To be provided with information when reporting the crime
4. To be referred to services that support victims and have services and support tailored to your needs.
5. To be provided with information about compensation
6. To be provided with information about the investigation and prosecution
7. To make a Victim Personal Statement
8. To be given information about the trial, trial process and your role as a witness
9. To be given information about the outcome of the case and any appeals
10. To be paid expenses and have property returned
11. To be given information about the offender following a conviction
12. To make a complaint about your Rights not being met

Find out more about the Victims Code of Practice.

More information about the support available to victims can be found below:

• Victim Support
• Support for victims and witnesses of crime (Gloucestershire Constabulary)

Additionally, CPS have provided a useful guide for victims which goes through the process step by step.