Improving the victim experience of the criminal justice system: recommendation 6

Recommendation:

The Crown Prosecution Service urgently amend their guidance on ‘witness summons¹’ to reflect that the timeliness of the system impacts victim wellbeing.

The guidance already mandates that prosecutors should ensure a risk assessment is carried out by policing to aid their decision making. Amended guidance should make clear that the impact of lengthy delays and multiple adjournments on the victim’s mental and emotional health must be considered as part of the mandatory risk assessment.

Where the victim has a victim advocate, any risk assessment should also seek representations from the advocate. The guidance should also strongly discourage use of a witness summons in circumstances where delay is the only or main factor that has led a victim to withdraw.