Ministry of Justice - Consultation on revising the Victims' Code

The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the "Victims’ Code") sets out the support and information that victims of crime are entitled to receive. It is central to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) strategy for transposing the EU Victims’ Directive (2012/29/EU) which establishes minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime across the EU, and which comes into force on 16 November 2015.  

Views on proposed technical changes to the Victims’ Code to ensure compliance with the Directive were sought. In particular, the consultation included proposals to:  

• Extend the services offered under the Victims’ Code to victims of any criminal offence, not just victims of the more serious criminal offences that are notifiable under the National Crime Recording Standards (NCRS). Currently, victims of offences such as careless driving and drink driving do not receive support under the Victims’ Code.

• Make sure that victims are entitled to receive support and information from relevant public sector investigative and prosecutorial organisations, not just the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

• Entitle a victim who reports a crime to receive a written acknowledgment which states the basic elements of the criminal offence concerned.

PCC's Response

The PCC's response to the consultation can be viewed here.