§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what(a) guidance and (b) targets he has given to police authorities on the time within which police officers should visit victims of (i) burglary, (ii) robbery, (iii) sex crimes and (iv) other crimes of violence. [34773]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 8 February 2002]: Under the 1996 Victim's Charter the police have responsibility for ensuring that victims are put in contact with the voluntary organisation Victim Support. Once a crime has been reported, the Victim's Charter outlines the standards of service that victims can expect to receive from the criminal justice agencies. The police are responsible for keeping victims informed of subsequent developments in the case, and the outcome of any court proceedings. Guidance about this was issued in Home Office Circular 55/1998.
The police are also required to conduct user satisfaction surveys on a range of service responses, including the quality of response to a report of a burglary or of a violent crime.