Supporting Victims in Practice

Your Care Card

Police Scotland recently updated the ‘Your Care Card’ (formerly the Victim Care Card) to be more accessible and person-centred. This was due to specific feedback during victim consultation that supported modernisation, rebranding and improved accessibility.

Police Scotland undertook a review of the language and layout of the Victim Care Card and consulted with victims’ groups, which led to creation of the Your Care Card (YCC). The card contains information and contact details for support services and links to the Victim’s Code for Scotland and the Standards of Service for Victims and Witnesses. It also includes a Quick Reference (QR) Code to access more information about support to victims or witnesses on the Police Scotland website.

Police Scotland now also offer the option to email the card directly to victims. Police Scotland continues to scope opportunities for further technical advancements to support officers in delivering a high-quality service to victims and witnesses of crime.

In 2024, 44% of those who were offered the YCC accepted, whereas 50% of those who were offered declined. The remainder were unable to be issued, classed as being not suitable for issue or were not recorded.

Referrals

Under the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014, Police Scotland are required to inform anyone who is or appears to be a victim that they can request a referral to victim support services from any competent authority, and that they can contact providers of this service directly without a referral. The flow chart below outlines the current process in Police Scotland. It should be noted that the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill may result in changes to this process.

In 2024, there were 9,427 referrals, with referrals for females nearly double that of males. In total, there has been an increase in referrals by 16.3% between the period January-June 2024 and 2025. While Non-sexual Crimes of Violence have the highest total number of referrals, those who experienced/witnessed Sexual Crime have the highest acceptance rate (13%).*

*Source: Police Scotland Management Information

Victim Strategy to support victims of rape

In 2025, Police Scotland embedded a victim template into their national reporting system to support victims of rape.

This method ensures that Police Scotland effectively share essential information about a victim's vulnerabilities, care plans, support networks, contact and necessary assistance in the Criminal Justice System, to reduce the risk of additional trauma from having to provide information on more than one occasion.

This provides an opportunity for investigating officers to supply the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) with information that identifies early prosecution challenges and helps develop tailored strategies for each victim ensuring a victim centred approach.

Summary Case Management

Currently the Summary Case Management Pilot is ongoing across the country. The pilot is designed to resolve cases at the earliest opportunity.

It works by providing evidence such as CCTV and statements during the submission of police reports to COPFS. This allows the earlier disclosure of evidence to the defence and can help conclude cases much more quickly, reducing the number of cases having to go to court.

This means that Police Scotland may ask victims and witnesses of crime to help them by providing this evidence sooner, but has the benefit of being able to update on the outcome much earlier.

Feedback and lived experience

Every month, Police Scotland conduct a ‘User Experience Survey for Local Policing’ – run by an independent market research agency. This survey captures the experiences of people who have reported a crime or incident to Police Scotland. In 2024-25, 40,607 responses were received.

Within this survey, people are asked questions relating to ease of access, response, communication and other experiences. This year there have been recorded improvements across most measures as shown in the table below.

In May 2023, Police Scotland launched a feedback mechanism for domestic abuse and sexual crime which invites victim survivors to provide anonymous feedback on the service they received. There have been 231 responses since the survey launched in May 2023. The 89 responses received in 2024-25 are being considered to inform any service improvement actions. While the sample dataset is small, and therefore should be considered with caution, it is important feedback when designing and delivering services.

There has also been collaboration with groups that possess “lived experience” to understand how Police Scotland can improve their approaches and services and better meets the needs of victims and witnesses. The lived experience groups have offered valuable insights by sharing their views of interactions with policing, both in terms of the positives and the areas which could be improved, enabling Police Scotland to explore more effective methods of supporting victims and witnesses with a focus on empowerment, trust-building, and sharing of the best practices.

Domestic Bail notification process

In partnership with COPFS, a new national standardised form has been introduced in relation to the Domestic Bail notification process. This will improve clarity, reduce duplication and ensure a consistent approach across Police Scotland, COPFS and the courts, enhancing service delivery and improving victim safety.

Communications

The ‘People at Heart’ approach has been developed by The First Word Communications company in partnership with criminal justice agencies, third sector partners and people with lived experience.

The approach aims to ensure that communications are empathetic and empowering and are easy to access and understand. Alongside rewriting key justice communications, the partnership has produced a ‘People at Heart’ style guide and training materials to support the transformation of written communications with victims and witnesses across the criminal justice system.

Police Scotland are currently working to continue awareness raising within their own organisation. A launch webinar took place in February 2025 and further training sessions have been ongoing since March 2025. Feedback and consultations have confirmed that good communication is critical in supporting victims and witnesses. This work is an ongoing commitment to improve communication and supports the victim-centred and trauma informed workstreams of the Victim Task Force.