Information for victims
If you have been a victim of an offence committed by a young person who lives in Bexley and the young person has received a court order we will contact you.
We will tell you about the court process and what sentencing options will be available to the court. If the young person has already been sentenced, we can tell you about what the young person must do.
We can help if:
- you would like to make a statement about how the offence has affected you and your family
- you have questions that you would like the young person to answer
If you do not want the young person to know that the questions have come from you, we can do this anonymously.
If the young person is sentenced to custody and you have concerns about what may happen when they are released, we will talk through these concerns with you. We may be able to suggest conditions to put on their release licence that will help to address the concerns.
People should rightly be able to:
- feel safe in their communities
- expect high-quality services from the police and council to prevent crime
- expect that victims’ needs are given priority and to be given a say in how services for victims are improved
Our pledge to victims of crime
We will:
- give victims high-quality help and support they need
- protect victims of crime by offering support and advice on staying safe
- support witnesses in court to feel safe and protected
- work with agencies to prevent youth crime in Bexley
The following organisations work with us to make this happen:
Meeting the young person who offended
If you want to, you may be able to meet the young person who committed the offence. This can happen in one of two ways.
Referral Orders
When a young person is sentenced to a Referral Order they must attend a panel run by trained community volunteers. The volunteers will come to an agreement with the young person and their parents/carer as to what they must do during the order. The panels are held at the Civic Offices and are usually in the early evening.
As the victim, you have a right to attend the panel and as part of the meeting may be asked if the young person can do anything to help repair the harm they caused. This may be direct work for you or could be a community project that young people can help with.
Find out more about Referral Orders
Restorative justice meeting
These meetings are held when people affected by an offence choose to meet the young person who committed the offence (and their parents/carers) to talk about what has happened, how it has affected everyone and what needs to happen next to help put things right.