If you’ve reported a crime, it’s likely that you were either a witness or victim to what took place. Being a victim or witness of crime can be an upsetting experience and could have a negative impact on your physical and mental health.
Police Scotland is committed to supporting victims and witnesses to get the right support and information when required.
Officers will provide you with a Your Care Card if you have been a victim of a crime. This provides you with the details of the enquiry officer, the crime you have reported and how you can access support services. It also explains the Scottish Government’s Victims’ Code and your legal rights.
Police Scotland have standards in place to ensure they can do what they can to support you:
- If you are a victim or a witness, you should be able to access information about what is happening in the investigation and proceedings.
- Your safety should be ensured during and after the investigation and proceedings.
- You should also have access to support during and after the investigation and proceedings.
- If you want to, you should also be able to participate effectively in the investigation and proceedings.
What Kind of Information Can I Have Access To?
That will likely depend on the circumstance of the investigation and proceedings. You should have access to relevant information at an early stage and at appropriate points in the process.
This should include information on:
- Any procedures and if you have any your role in them.
- Any reports on progress.
- The outcomes of any criminal proceedings.
- If it is possible, they should also include where you can get further information and assistance.
- Who to contact if you want to discuss the information that has been provided. This means if there is anything you don’t understand it will be explained to you.
This information should be easy to understand, and should be available in different languages or formats if required.
If you were a victim of a crime you should know your rights. The Victims’ Code for Scotland tells you these rights, how you can exercise these rights and the relevant authorities to contact if you need more help and advice.
Appropriate Adults
Some people are provided an appropriate adult. They are there to provide communication support to vulnerable victims and witnesses, aged 16 and over, during police investigations.
They are there to help ensure that vulnerable adults are not disadvantaged in any way compared to other adults during police procedures. These procedures can include interviews, identification procedures and forensic examinations.
These appropriate adults assist the vulnerable individual understand what is going on, and to support communication between the vulnerable person and the police. Find out more about appropriate adults here.
Do you have any more questions about contacting or reporting crime to the Police? Check our page with Police Scotland to find our more.