Victim Support Scheme

In 1985 the Victim Support Scheme in Sutton became a registered charity, and took its place in the frontline of services offered to the victims of crime.

They offer a free, confidential support and advice service to all sections of the community and are committed to helping minority and disadvantaged groups.

They work closely with other agencies and have representatives from the Police, Probation Service and Social Services on their Committee.

The majority of the referrals come from the Police after a crime has been committed. Confidential lists of people who may need assistance are sent to Victim Support every day, cases are prioritised, then their trained volunteers make contact usually within 48 hours.

They offer a series of leaflets covering burglary, violence, rape, Court procedures

Nobody has to accept help and many people choose not to take up the offer. The aim is to check that the victim is coping and then to point them in the direction of other agencies if needed.

If a case goes to Court The Crown Court Witness Service which is run by Victim Support will normally be in contact before the hearing to offer its services. This may mean a visit to the Crown Court centre and possibly a look around a courtroom before being called as a witness. They can accompany you into the courtroom on the day, provide information on court procedures and help with claims for expenses. They can't answer specific questions about a case but will find someone who can.

They can also offer a chance to talk over the case when it has ended and offer further information or help if needed.

A small number of contacts are self-referrals. They may not wish to report a crime to the Police, but need advice. Or they could be a relative or friend of someone who has been the victim of crime or who has been threatened. If the crime is of a sexual nature they may contact Victim Support to ask for a volunteer to accompany them to the Police Station to make a complaint.

More Volunteers

All information given to volunteers is confidential and in most cases not even a victim's family will be told without the victim's permission. Volunteers normally visit people at home but if preferred other arrangements can be made. In the case of rape or murder, volunteers with specialist training and knowledge are used.

More volunteers are always needed as the first ten months of 1997 / 98 brought in 3000 referrals. Out of this figure over 2000 received letters while another 500+ were seen in person.

Not all volunteers are in direct contact with victims and there are opportunities to help in other areas such as fund raising and publicity or with translation and interpreting if they have language skills.

To find out more about Victim Support, or if you are interested in becoming a volunteer, or need advice and assistance, they can be contacted on 020 8770 4364.

The telephone is staffed Monday to Friday morning but there is an out of hours answer phone.

The Police check all volunteers before they start working for the scheme and the volunteers will be fully trained.

Victim Support Sutton can provide someone to talk to in confidence, information on police and court procedures, advice on insurance and compensation maters or details of other relevant organisations.