Witness Care Unit Celebrates 2 year Anniversary
WITNESS CARE UNIT CELEBRATES TWO YEARS OF SERVICE TO WITNESSES AND VICTIMS IN WILTSHIRE
The Witness Care Unit in Wiltshire celebrates two years of exemplary service to Victims and Witnesses across Wiltshire on Wednesday March 7th. Over the past two years, the average number of witnesses attending court has risen substantially and in Wiltshire, 82% of witnesses to crimes attended court last month due to the support and assistance provided by the Witness Care Unit.
The Witness Care Unit (WCU) is operated and staffed from both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Wiltshire Police and acts as a single point of contact for victims and witnesses of crime, to keep them updated as their case progresses through the courts.
If a victim or witness is required to attend court, they are contacted by a member of the WCU, and assigned a Witness Care Officer (WCO). The WCO will discuss how their particular circumstances could affect their ability to give evidence, and will be their point of contact if they have any questions or concerns, through to the conclusion of the case. Currently, the WCU is dealing with over 800 cases, which is over 100 cases for each full time Witness Care Officer.
The WCO can also provide practical support such as arranging transport or disabled access to court, and work closely with other agencies to arrange pre-trial visits and support at court on the day of the trial.
The WCO will tailor the services depending on the witnesses individual needs, to make the Court process as problem-free as possible.
In their two years of service to Wiltshire, the Witness Care Unit has developed strong relationships with organisations such as Victim Support, The Witness Service, Wiltshire Probation Service, the Courts, Domestic Violence Unit, Child Protection Unit, Vulnerable Adults and the Wiltshire and Swindon Youth Offending Teams.
WCU manager, Genny Harris, said: “During the last two years, the Witness Care Unit has been able to offer a wide range of practical support to witnesses in the form of transport, accommodation and childcare. All the WCU staff have shown tremendous dedication and commitment to listening to the needs of victims and witnesses and tailoring their service to each persons individual requirements, the thank-you letters and phone calls received in the unit are testament to the success of that approach. This is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the last two years and to look forward to the challenge ahead of continuing to provide the very best level of service we can to the people of Wiltshire.”
Head of Criminal Justice for Wiltshire Police, Sue Leffers said: “The Witness Care Unit is providing an excellent service to victims and witnesses in Wiltshire. This has been reflected in a high level of attendance at Court, which in turn means we have been able to exceed the targets we have been set for the number of criminal offences that we have brought to justice. This sends a clear message to the people of Wiltshire, that the Police and the CPS will do all that we can to help and support individuals who are victims of crime.”
The Witness Care Unit have recently expanded their team by another two witness care officers and this will further enhance the service the Unit provides.
