The Victim Charter and the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act 2000 provide the basis for the National Probation Service to offer a service to all victims, survivors and next of kin of serious sexual and violent criminal offences (as defined) where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment.
The service is provided by the Victim Liaison Unit which will contact individuals within 56 days and aims to provide a service that is fully accessible to all minority groups. Any special needs, including vulnerability, are taken into account before contact is made in order to ensure a high quality service can be delivered.
The Victim Liaison Unit will provide information on other support services/organisations if required.
A sympathetic approach is taken when making contact which will initially be by letter offering a face to face appointment time and date at the home of the individual.
At the interview the Victim Liaison Officer will:
In addition to the above in Lifer cases:
The Victim Liaison Unit maintains contact and is available to any requests for information during the sentence period arranging repeat contact as and when required.
The Victim Liaison Unit is based in Chester and covers Cheshire, Halton and Warrington.
Contact can be made by telephone, letter or by filling in and submitting the form below:
Complain to the local manager or Senior Probation Officer at the office you have been dealing with. (See the Locations page » for addresses and telephone numbers.)
If you are not satisfied with the response, you can complain to the Chief Officer of the Cheshire Probation Area. See the 'How to make a Complaint' leaflet ». If you are still not satisfied, you should ask how to make an appeal.
The Probation Service will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and you will be told of the procedure that will be followed and the time this is expected to take.