Why Me? reported on 1 April 2021 that the Victims’ Code of Practice 2020 had finally come into force.

The code entitles victims of crime to information about Restorative Justice and how to access it.

This is laid out under the following rights:

3.4: If the offender is an adult, you have the Right to receive information about Restorative Justice from the police and how to access Restorative Justice services in your local area. If the offender is under the age of 18, you have the Right to receive information about Restorative Justice from the Youth Offending Team.

3.5 Although the police are responsible for providing you with information on Restorative Justice
initially, all service providers must consider whether you would benefit from receiving this
information at any stage of the criminal justice process.

3.6 All information under this Right must be provided within 5 working days (1 working day under
Enhanced Rights – see Page 10 of this Code) of reporting the crime.

4.5 If you report a crime to the police, you have the Right to be referred to a service that supports
victims, including Restorative Justice services. The police will tell you about all the support
services available in your local area. You will be referred to a support service within 2 working
days, and these services will endeavour to provide timely access to support based on availability.

4.6 If you choose not to report the crime to the police, you still have the Right to access support
services at any time. You can contact local support services directly. To search for a support
service near you, contact your local Police and Crime Commissioner24 or visit: www.gov.uk/getsupport-as-a-victim-of-crime

Victims of offenders who are under 18 years old

11.6 The Youth Offending Team may seek your views prior to sentencing and explore whether you
want to get involved

In a press release, the Ministry of Justice said

Victims of crime will get better support from the police, courts and other criminal justice agencies as a new Victims’ Code comes into force.

[It] will pave the way for a new Victims’ Law, on which Ministers will consult this summer. It seeks to underpin victims’ rights in legislation and ensure justice agencies are held to account for delivering them.