HANDBOOK FOR OFFICERS: COMMUNICATING WITH VICTIMS OF CRIME

January 29, 2018

Each year plenty of people become victims of crimes. A crime violates the victim’s physical and (or) psychological integrity and may damage the person’s self-esteem and trust in other people. Therefore, professional communicating by pre-trial investigation officers is a crucial precondition for avoiding further negative and harmful consequences related to the experienced crime.

The Human Rights Monitoring Institute gathered a team of nine experts and produced a practical Handbook for law-enforcement officers “Communicating with victims of crime”. The aim of the Handbook is to equip law enforcement officers with the knowledge and skills on how to communicate with victims in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner without discrimination of any kind. Special emphasis is placed on communicating and providing help to especially vulnerable victims – children, persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities, victims of sex crimes, human trafficking, domestic violence and hate crimes.

This Handbook was reviewed by the Prosecutor’s General Office of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr Levant Altan from Victim Support Europe (Belgium) and Mr Pär Stihl from Linnaeus University (Sweden).

Find the Handbook here.