IPPR says that police should use digital media to update crime victims
Published: 01 June 2012
- Date:
- 05 June 2012
Thinktank the Institute of Public Policy Reform (IPPR) has said that victims of crime should be able to track the progress of police investigations and prosecutions in the same way that they check their bank balance or follow the delivery of a parcel.
Supported by Victim Support research findings, in a report published today the IPPR argues that every police force in the UK should offer a similar system to the ‘TrackMyCrime’ tool, pioneered by Avon and Somerset Police.
This online tool allows victims of crime to access the current status of their crime and provides direct contact to the officer leading the investigation. Evaluation of the service has been extremely positive.
The report recommends that facilities like these should go further than the Avon and Somerset Police system to include court and probation data.
The IPPR suggests that giving victims relevant data is crucial to improving their confidence in the criminal justice system.
Javed Khan
, Chief Executive of Victim Support said:
“This report reveals that developments in digital media have real potential to improve cost effective communication and understanding between victims and criminal justice agencies which, as victims tell us, is often unsatisfactory.
“Our own research shows that victims are only kept properly informed about what the criminal justice system is doing in respect of their case around half of the time.
“Therefore we particularly welcome the IPPR’s call for all police forces and other criminal justice agencies to adopt secure online accounts to keep victims and witnesses informed and updated as they go through the criminal justice process.”