Witness Support Promise
Housing policy
Contact: [email protected]
Effective from: February 2015
Next review date: February 2018
Thank you for working with us so that we at Peabody can take a stand against antisocial (ASB) behaviour.
We are committed to putting victims and witnesses first. This leaflet explains how we will support you and
protect you from harm.
You can help us to win this legal action. The most successful ASB court cases are those where victims and
witnesses are prepared to give evidence. We want to make you feel as safe as possible and we will work
with you to ensure you are confident about what’s involved in taking a case to court – we will be there to
support you at every step.
We recognise that some witnesses feel vulnerable, frightened, worried, or find the process daunting. With
this in mind, we have created an ASB witness support package to support you through the process.
Our promise to you if you are a witness
We will:
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identify whether you have any support needs, or if there is potential risk or harm to you by carrying
out a risk assessment. We will work around you and your individual needs and concerns and tailor
our support package accordingly. If necessary, we can put you in touch with a tenant or family
support worker who can provide specialist advice and support services;
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give you every support and assistance when it is more appropriate for you to take action yourself;
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work with you to discuss potential solutions. These may include dispute resolution through a
mediation service, civil or criminal court action (working alongside our partner agencies such as the
police and your local authority) or an injunction. Where it is appropriate, we are willing to act
immediately to obtain injunctions where there has been actual violence or a threat of it and/or take
possession action;
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keep you updated and brief you at each stage of the legal process;
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give you a clear explanation of the process, an indication of how long each step is likely to take and
the likely outcomes;
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investigate ways to support you if you feel intimidated or are vulnerable in ASB cases, including
briefing and preparing you for court. This may include us liaising with the courts where necessary to
minimise any distress or possible risks;
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give you regular, frequent updates about the progress of your case, even when nothing has
happened. We will also try to give an indication of the likely date for a court date, taking into
consideration the average waiting time for each court;
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work in partnership with other organisations, agencies and support groups to provide co-ordinated
protection and support which will be tailored to your needs;
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maintain confidentiality. We will not disclose your name or address to any other organisation or
individual without your informed consent. In some circumstances, however, we are governed by
legislation on information we have a legal duty to share, i.e. the Child Protection Act (1989) and for
the protection and safeguarding of vulnerable individuals;
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publicise the support available to help victims and witnesses. We will provide information about and
make referrals to other agencies including Victim Support;
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Check that our support and protection meets your needs;
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Where necessary, we will keep in contact and provide telephone advice and support after a case has
been closed. We can refer you to other sources of support, advice or counselling services if needed.
Court attendance
We can support you when you attend court in the following ways:

You will be briefed by your Peabody case officer or another member of neighbourhood services
beforehand to explain the court process and they will tell you about the court location itself. This can
take place at a location agreed with you and your case officer (i.e. at your home, our officers, a
partner agency office (i.e. Local authority / Police) or another safe location. During the briefing
session (either in person or by phone as agreed with you) you will have the opportunity to go through
your witness statement.
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We can arrange a visit to the court before the trial, if needed, and will work in partnership with victim
support services or court clerks to make you comfortable with the process and location and attend to
any special needs with translations or interpretations, for example translating a document or
providing sign language support.
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You will be met at the court before the hearing by a member of our staff if you are giving evidence on
behalf of Peabody.
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If you are concerned about sitting in the court waiting room with the perpetrator, a private room will
be made available, where possible.
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If you are giving evidence for criminal proceedings, it may be possible to give evidence from behind
a screen or, in exceptional circumstances, via video-conferencing. This must be requested by the
police and is usually only available in criminal matters. Generally the court proceedings for
possession action or injunctions will be held in the county court, where such measures may not be
available.
Special measures for intimidated and vulnerable witnesses
We recognise that attending court to give evidence can be a frightening and stressful experience, particularly
for vulnerable witnesses.
We will discuss support needs and concerns with all witnesses, but in particular for intimidated and
vulnerable witnesses and put together a support package that takes into consideration individual needs. We
will work hard to minimise any distress and respond to concerns, which could include referrals to victim
support, befriending services and/or other specialist agencies.
For court appearance, arrangements will be dependent on the individual court set-up.
Who is considered a vulnerable witness?
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All witnesses aged under 17 years;
All witnesses whose quality of evidence is likely to be diminished because they have a mental health
disorder or learning disability, or have a physical disability or disorder;
All witnesses whose quality of evidence is likely to be diminished due to fear or distress about
testifying.
Physical support
We provide support in the following ways:
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Give you personal panic alarms (available through the community safety team).
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Mobile phones can be requested from the community safety team in domestic violence cases.
These will only be provided to residents in extreme cases at the community safety officers’
discretion.
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In the homes of witnesses and victims (including owner occupiers and leaseholders) where these
items are not fitted as standard, we will carry out a risk assessment and may be able to install the
following security measures through the Sanctuary scheme, working in conjunction with the relevant
local authority:
o
o
o
o
o
Fire-proof letterboxes
Sensor lights
Door locks
Window snap/clamp lock
Spy holes
Moving to another home
We can provide you support, in line with our lettings policy, if this is appropriate:
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We can work with you to arrange temporary alternative accommodation during the lead-up to the trial
(if appropriate) or where there is a serious threat of violence, working with local authority housing
and homeless persons units. Our community safety team will support such applications;
Tenants who are the victims of violence and under a serious threat of violence may be considered
for a transfer to another property away from the area of risk, where there is supporting evidence.
We will investigate ways to help you to move to a property belonging to another housing association
if requested.
If you are not a Peabody resident, we will talk you through housing and safety options and may refer you to
external organisations for legal advice and support where appropriate or talk with your landlord.
Data protection and confidentiality
We aim to preserve the confidentiality of both the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator wherever possible.
We will deal with reports of antisocial behaviour promptly and sensitively and all information will be treated
confidentially.
However, complainants will be advised that we may share information with our partner agencies and, also,
those identities may have to be revealed if court action is pursued. Our partners are also subject to the Data
Protection Act. Permission will be requested from the complainant before information is disclosed to the
perpetrators, their legal representatives and other interested parties.
Provide translation and interpretation
If you need it, we will provide you with translation and interpretation services, for example translation of a
document or provision of a sign language services. If you want to arrange a translation service, please
contact us on the number below.
Victim support in antisocial behaviour cases
For information about how we support victims and those being affected by antisocial behaviour, please refer
to our antisocial behaviour factsheet (include link to our website factsheets). You can also read our domestic
abuse and violence factsheet, and hate crime factsheet for specific support in these cases.
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More help and advice
Peabody Direct
Phone: 020 7021 4444 or 0800 022 4040 (calls are free from landlines) from Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.
Email: [email protected].
Victim Support
Phone: 0845 30 30 900
Typetalk users: 18001 0845 30 30 900
(To hide your number press 141 before dialling the number)
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 9am to 9pm
Saturdays and Sundays: 9am to 7pm
Bank holidays: 9am to 5pm
You can phone the Victim Support line if you need to use an interpretation service.
Website: www.victimsupport.org.uk
Email: [email protected]
Police
You can call the Metropolitan Police Services on 0300 123 1212 or the non-emergency number 101 at any
time.
In an emergency (a crime is happening, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, someone is injured, you
are being threatened or you are in danger) call 999.
If it’s not an emergency, you can also contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team, which is a team of
police officers dedicated to every London neighbourhood. You can get details from
www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods
You can also report a crime to the police on their website at https://online.met.police.uk
Local advice and support
You can look at your local authority website for further information about support and advice agencies near
your home.
More information
You can get other leaflets and policies (see below) from our website at www.peabody.org.uk. Or, you can
contact us on 020 7021 4444 or 0800 022 4040 (calls are free from landlines) and we can post you.
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Antisocial behaviour
Domestic abuse and Domestic violence
Hate crime
Single equality policy
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