Witness Care Officer in London

The role of a Witness Care Officer is an integral part of the Criminal Justice Process. It involves:

• Being the single point of contact for victims and witnesses, giving regular updates in line with the Victim Code and Witness Charter.
• Negotiating and persuading victims and witnesses to remain engaged in the Criminal Justice process in order to achieve successful outcomes at court (measured by National targets of effective trials).
• Collating non availability dates for Police and Civilian witnesses in readiness for Magistrates and Crown Court trials to be fixed.
• Warning Civilian and Police witnesses for Magistrates and Crown Court trials, whether attending Court Venues or giving evidence via video-link.
• Being proactive in resolving any issues that arise to secure attendance at Court.
• Dealing with correspondence from the Crown Prosecution Service as well as His Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service, prioritising in line with Sussex Police standards.
• Carrying out Needs Assessments for each victim and witness in Not Guilty cases.
• Using several IT systems such as Outlook, Niche, WMS, PNC, Common Platform, Libra and Exhibit.

Key Responsibilities

• Witness Care Officers are responsible for promoting and supporting Victim and Witness Care in full compliance with the minimum requirements of the Victims Code of Practice and The Witness Charter.
• You will offer support and assistance to those victims and witnesses called to give evidence at Court.
• You will provide victims and witnesses with a single point of contact by their preferred means.
• You will be required to carry out Needs Assessments on the telephone to determine vulnerability to then assist in Court attendance.
• You will be expected to identify Special Measures which need to be put in place.
• You will be required to signpost victims and witnesses to our partner agencies such as the Witness Service, Probation Service, IDVAs and ISVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advocates & Independent Sexual Violence Advocates).
• You will be able to explain the Victim Personal Statement process and make arrangements to take statements where required.
• You will be expected to deliver excellent Customer Service and maintain clear and concise contact logs and referrals.

Skills & Experience

• Joining our busy team, you'll require first class organisational, problem solving, administrative and negotiating skills.
• You will need to offer an enhanced service to those witnesses who are vulnerable and in the greatest need; therefore it is essential that you have exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to identify those who have concerns or worries.
• You must have the ability to deal with distressed individuals who may have been the victims of serious sexual and violent crime along with numerous other upsetting offences.
• Previous experience of dealing with people in a customer focussed environment or supportive network is essential.
• You will be dealing with a large number of cases at any one time so the ability to work under pressure is vital, as is the ability to continually prioritise your own work and that of any absent colleagues, whilst working to strict timescales.
• You must have the ability to integrate into an established team and work under your own initiative, often with limited supervision.
• Criminal Justice experience is desirable.

Why Work With Us?

• Policing is an exciting 24/7 business and we all have commitments outside work. We're invested in supporting people to balance their life with work and we encourage flexible working.
• We are open to conversations about job shares and part time working.
• We encourage agile working, giving you the opportunity to manage your own diary and work wherever you give the best service to the public. This may include flexi-time and home working.
• We take pride in looking after our people and offer a variety of benefits:

• career progression
• contributory pension scheme (LGPS)
• generous annual leave allowance
• discounts for everyday spend
• on-site gyms and a range of sports clubs
• generous and supportive parental leave
• financial and mental wellbeing guidance and support
• discounted contributory healthcare scheme

Further Information

This role has the option for agile working. During the initial learning period of the role, all mentoring will be done at John Street Police Station. Agile working will be considered after a minimum of 6 months from the start date, subject to a sufficient understanding of the role being demonstrated.

For further information or an informal discussion about this role, please contact Lou Chesson and/or Karen Sumbler.

Diversity Statement

We are only as good as our people. It's important that our officers and staff can be themselves in the workplace and we know that as an organisation we'll grow from the variety of thinking, approach, and the skills that diversity brings; all of which help us to deliver a better policing service.

We strive to ensure how we deliver our services, provide information and how we recruit is open and accessible to all. We have multiple staff support groups who help to improve our understanding of minority issues and ensure they are reflected in our work.

We are proud members of Disability Confident, hold Race Equality Matters Trailblazer status, are a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and are aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement.

We are committed to being an anti-racist police service. We promise to challenge injustice, ensure fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles in both our organisation and our communities.

We value the differences that people bring from all backgrounds and communities. Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, social status, or religious belief, we would love to hear from you.

Additional Information

Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your application attached. Occasionally emails from this address can fall into spam/junk folders so please ensure this is checked regularly. You may wish to consider adding to your address/contact list to ensure you receive all communications.

This post is being advertised in parallel with Force redeployment processes. Any redeployees who are identified will be given preference. This may result in the post being withdrawn at any point during the recruitment process.

Please note that not all jobs are available for internal candidates across both Forces, the current agreed recruitment principles are:

• vacancies in collaborated units are available to all officers and staff across both Forces
• vacancies in non-collaborated units are only available to officers and staff within the Force with the vacancy unless it is advertised externally
• if the vacancy is advertised externally and an officer or member of staff from the other Force is successful it will result in a transfer of employment

Surrey Police and Sussex Police Special Constables, Volunteers and Agency Staff (excluding self employed workers) covered under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) are eligible to apply for internal advertised posts.