The North Wales Probation Service, Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) provides information to victims of serious crime where the offender has been sentenced to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983, or to prison for life or a period of 12 months or more for a sexual or violent offence. The VLO will write to the victim within 8 weeks of the offender’s sentence to find out if the victim wants contact. What the VLO can offer victims:
- Explain about the victim contact scheme and what can be expected from it.
- Provide information about the sentence and what this means in practice.
- Provide information about the offender’s progress in the prison system.
- Discuss any concerns around the time of release and explain how decisions to release the offender are made.
- A VLO report will contribute to the plans for release and any decisions about these. This may include specific conditions on the offender’s licence.
- The VLO works with others in Multi-Agency Public Protection meetings to make sure safeguards are in place to protect the victim.
- The VLO can also refer the victim to counselling agencies if this is needed.
For offenders who are detained in hospital:
- The VLO will offer contact to a victim when an offender has been made subject of a hospital order with a restriction order, or to a hospital direction and limitation direction or is transferred from prison to hospital under a transfer direction and restriction direction.
The Victim Liaison Scheme is entirely optional and victims can choose whether to take up the offer of contact with the VLO or continue with it following the initial contact.
