The probation service in West Mercia works in partnership with Victim Support to provide a service for individuals and their families who are victims of serious crime. 

We currently have three Victim Liaison Officers that cover the West Mercia Area.

Their role is to contact all victims of violent or sexual crime, where the offender received a prison sentence of 12 months or more, and keep them informed about the offender’s sentence.  This includes cases where a life sentence has been passed.

They help victims by:

• informing them about how the prison sentence will run
• suggesting how any concerns they have can be dealt with
• informing them when the prisoner will be due for release on licence and the area that he/she will be living in
• passing their views to the Parole Board as part of the Parole Process
• requesting extra conditions in the licence, such as prohibiting offenders from contacting the victim and excluding them from certain areas by implementing exclusion zones.

Probation staff who work with victims do not have any involvement with the offender.


The Home Office have recently reviewed the The Victim's Charter as part of the move to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. As a result, they are replacing the Victims' Charter with the Victims' Code of Practice - a document that will give victims of crime statutory rights for the first time. The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime was published on 18 October 2005, and will become law in April 2006.


Victim Support
For details of the nearest Victim Support and Witness Service scheme
Tel: 0845 3030 900
Or visit
www.victimsupport.org

For further information about our work with victims please contact Mike Bentley Email:
mike.bentley@west-mercia.probation.gsi.gov.uk