Victim Advice Line
Victim Advice Line – Free and Confidential Victim Support
The Victim Advice Line (VAL) is a free and confidential service for people that have been affected by crime in West Mercia.
The VAL is designed to make sure that the needs of victims and witnesses are supported at every stage of their journey – whether they choose to report it to the police or not.
The expert and fully-trained Care Coordinators will work with victims to understand exactly what kind of help and support they need in their journey of recovery.
Understanding that everyone’s experience of crime is different, they will agree a specially tailored support package for each person. This might include relevant advice booklets, contact numbers for counselling or other support services, help with insurance forms, guidance through the criminal justice process or talking about the benefits of Restorative Justice.
All ages and genders that have been a victim of crime whether it has been reported to the Police or not.
We aim to ensure that any personal information that we receive or collect about you is used fairly and lawfully by us and is only processed by us in accordance with data protection law. You can get further information on our Privacy Policy by clicking the following link Privacy notice – Victim Advice Line
There can be many reasons why you don’t want to report a crime to the police, such as not wanting to involve them because there was no personal injury or damage to property, or feeling there’s no point, or being concerned about reprisals. Either way, it is completely up to you and no one can force you to report it. However, there are certain circumstances under which we may need to talk to other professionals. These are as follows:
- In order to prevent or lessen a serious threat to a client or another’s safety.
- There is child protection issue. That is if we are told about a child or children who are being abused or neglected or who are at risk of being abused or neglected.
- There is an allegation or reasonable suspicion of a vulnerable adult who is at risk of being abused or neglected.
- The VAL is required by law to do so.
Both
Trained Victim Care Coordinators
