Grade: Band C

Salary: £20,115 to £27,339

Closing Date: 6th September 2019

About the role:

Witness Care Officers support victims and witnesses through the criminal justice system following the point of charge. In this role, you will provide updates regarding court outcomes and inform people whether they are required to attend court to give evidence, in accordance with the Victims Code of Practice and the Witness Charter.

You will be required to undertake needs assessments for victims to identify and arrange practical help to ensure people are appropriately supported. Victims and witnesses often feel anxious and scared about attending court and our role is to support them and positively influence them so they attend and achieve justice.

Candidates require excellent verbal and written communication skills as well as proven ability to influence. The post involves phoning members of the public who can be unwilling to engage and even hostile at times because of their situation. Patience coupled with determination is an important trait.

The ability to effectively liaise with police officers and partner agencies to problem solve by telephone and email is a requirement. All contact and interventions must be accurately recorded on the Witness Management System (WMS). Decision making without the need to refer to supervision for guidance is essential.  

The role is a pressured one and you will be dealing with approximately 200 cases at any one time which equates to having responsibility for the needs of approximately 1800 victims and witnesses.

Witness Care is open between 0800 hrs and 1830 hrs, Monday to Friday on a rotating work pattern of 0800-1600 hrs, 0900-1700 hrs or 1030-1830 hrs. You must be able to provide office cover until 1830 hrs as part of this fixed working pattern.

During this cover you will be responsible for checking and confirming attendance at crown court trials the following day as part of a small team dealing with all cases that are listed across the West Midlands.  

Training on WMS and the role in general will be provided.

Witness Care is a team consisting of police staff located in Lloyd House, Wednesfield Police Station and Coventry Central Police Station.  The current vacancy is located at Coventry Central Police Station.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide Victims and Witnesses with a single point of contact following first hearing
• Provide co-ordinated practical help and support to all victims and witnesses to develop their understanding of the criminal justice system and facilitate their attendance at court
• To receive referrals from officers and other agencies who have identified victims and witnesses as priority and in need of enhanced services.
• To identify victims and witnesses who are vulnerable, intimidated or priority and ensure enhanced services are provided.
• To refer victims and witnesses to partner agencies where appropriate so that services can be tailored to the needs of the individual and respond to any feedback received from those agencies.
• Identify any concerns or barriers that may be affecting attendance at court and problem solve with the victim or witness to achieve attendance.
• Offer and co-ordinate the opportunity for victims to make or update their Victim Personal Statement.
• To convince fearful or intimidated witnesses to attend court.
• Provide advice and guidance about the workings of the criminal justice system.
• Organise and advise on travel and accommodation for victims and witnesses and apply to CPS offering the most cost effective option.
• Respond to general enquiries from victims and witnesses regarding the progress of their case; tailoring style of communication and frequency of communication to the needs of the individual.
• To highlight victim and witness needs to the Crown Prosecution service and ensure they are answered / dealt with in a timely manner.
• To identify new offences or witness intimidation and ensure that the police take action and provide appropriate safeguarding for victims and witnesses. Advise on safeguarding where appropriate.
• Provide updates in accordance with the Victims Code of Practice and Witness Charter.
• To ensure that victim and witness confidentiality is maintained and updates are provided to appropriate parties in line with data protection principles.
• Identify cases eligible for probation referrals and serious further offence summary reports and ensure that service is offered and delivered to victims.
• To record all contact and progress on a case via the Witness Management System.
• Completion of MG2s to support applications for special measures
• Take a victims personal statement over the phone
• To provide all of the above in appeal cases as well as trial cases.
• To undertake any other task commensurate with this grade

For an informal discussion about the role please contact one of the Witness Care Team Leaders: Susan Lee on 0121 250 7501 or Suzanne Howell on 0121 250 7531

Essential skills:

• Experience of working in a customer service delivery environment and experience of dealing with difficult callers
• Experience of maintaining accurate records with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Working knowledge of confidentiality and data protection issues
• Experience of developing positive and strong relationships with customers
• Basic investigation skills
• Influencing skills
• Decision making skills
• Personal resilience
• Experience of managing own workload and using initiative
• Inquisitive, flexible and adaptable. Able to learn new processes and systems quickly and effectively.
• Able to work effectively as part of a team and deliver results in a highly pressured environment.
• IT literate, including the effective use of MS Office.

Desirable skills:

• Working knowledge of the Crimes portal, Oasis, EFB, Libra, Xhibit
• Previous experience in the criminal justice system

West Midlands Police are currently undertaking a long term review of staff pay and conditions.  The grade, pay and other terms of employment are therefore subject to review and may change in the future. 

**Please click 'Apply' above and access our site using Google Chrome. You must create a profile on our Careers Site, then complete and submit your responses to the role-specific questions.