The Ministry of Justice’s revised Code of Practice for Victims of Crime became effective in April 2021.

The Victims’ Code sets out in plain English what people should expect from the moment they report a crime to the end of a trial.

The Code will make sure that victims of the most serious crimes, including hate crime, domestic violence, terrorism and sexual offences, persistently targeted victims and all vulnerable and intimidated victims get access to vital services, like pre-trial therapy and counselling.

The statutory Victims’ Code will also:
 

• Entitle victims to say whether they want to read out their Victim Personal Statement in court, subject to the court’s discretion
• Ensure all victims are automatically referred to victims’ service by the police so that all victims receive consistent and immediate access to support services
• Give victims a clearer means of redress if they are not given the support they deserve
• For the first time give businesses, who are victims of 9.2 million crimes committed each year, the ability to have their say by writing an Impact Statement to explain to the court how a crime has affected them.

The Ministry of Justice have set out how victims of crime will get better support from the police, courts and other criminal justice agencies under the new Victims’ Code which came into force on 1 April 2021.

Here you can read the full version of the Victim’s Code. 

If you are a victim of crime and do not feel you have received the service required by the code, you can approach the relevant agency and deal with the matter through their complaints process.