Witness Care Officer

Witness Care Officers support victims and witnesses on their journey through the Criminal Justice System from the point of charge, up to outcome, sentencing, and any subsequent appeals. In this role, you will provide updates regarding court hearings; assessing and acting upon victim and witness needs, and facilitating their attendance at court. You will also provide enhanced support to vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, in accordance with the Victims Code of Practice and the Witness Charter.

You will be required to undertake needs assessments for victims to identify, arrange and signpost practical and emotional 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 feel able to attend and achieve justice.

You will be responsible for a caseload of both Magistrates and Crown court cases and will retain them throughout the court process, this can range from a couple of weeks to over two or three years.

Witness Care currently work between 0800 hrs and 1730 hrs, Monday to Friday on a rotating work pattern. You must be able to provide cover until 1730 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.) The rota pattern also includes a Saturday shift one in every ten weeks 08:30 – 16:30 to update the most vulnerable victims following the remand court.

Key Responsibilities:

Provide Victims and Witnesses with a single point of contact following first hearing
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.
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.
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 special measures applications to CPS to support victims and witnesses at court
To provide all of the above in appeal cases as well as trial cases.

Qualifications

Essential skills:

Be resilient, flexible and adaptable to change.
Experience working in a customer focused environment;
Possess an ability to deal with difficult/ emotional callers; this post involves phoning members of the public who can be unwilling to engage and even hostile at times.
Patience and determination is an important trait to navigate the challenges currently within the Criminal Justice System.
Be capable of developing strong and positive relationships with colleagues, stakeholders and service users; and possess established influencing and decision making skills.
Possess active listening techniques, effective written skills and excellent verbal communication qualities.
Have a working knowledge of confidentiality and data protection legislation.
Should be IT literate and be able to work effectively as part of a team.
Should be aware of force policies relating to Health & Safety and Fairness & Inclusion. They should also be confident to challenge instances of non-compliance.

Desirable skills:

Knowledge and experience of Common Platform.
Previous experience working within the criminal justice system.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting and Counter Terrorism Clearance scrutiny prior to commencing their role, this will include a full background & financial disclosure as part of the vetting process.

Medical: Appointment to this role will be dependent upon successfully medical checks, which may include a drugs test and if required a fitness test.

Contact: For further information please contact kate.chackett@westmidlands.police.uk

Prospective officers and staff must be held to a higher standard of behaviour and accountability than members of the public, and that therefore their right to privacy can be fettered in certain circumstances. This is to ensure that members of the police are fully aware and accountable for the unique powers entrusted to them and the standards of professional behaviour they swear to uphold.

West Midlands Police is a Disability Confident Leader - the highest level an organisation can achieve under the scheme run by the Department of Work and Pensions. As part of our commitment we operate a ‘Disability Confident Interview Scheme’ - all candidates who declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role will be offered an interview.

It is important to note that there may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people who meet the essential criteria for the job. For example: in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. In these circumstances, the employer could select the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job, as they would do for non-disabled applicants.

"Diversity and Inclusion Vision: Maximise the potential of people from all backgrounds through a culture of fairness and inclusion to deliver the best service for our communities"

By choosing to join West Midlands Police you will receive an enhanced benefits package including:

- Fair remuneration with progression opportunities, and access to a very competitive pension scheme

- Enhanced annual leave in additional to public holiday entitlements

- Discounts across travel, parking, daily costs of living and leisure activities

- A comprehensive wellbeing package including 24/7 support, free eye tests and flu jabs