NINETY per cent of victims of crime in Cheshire – including Warrington – are satisfied with the service they received from the criminal justice services in the county.
This is revealed by a survey of victims and witnesses carried out by MORI covering a 12 month period.
Cheshire is the first Criminal Justice Board in the UK to achieve a 90 per cent figure, which it has now maintained for the last 12 months.
Ian Rushton, chairman of the Local Criminal Justice Board, said: “These figures are particularly pleasing as they show that the high standards reached by the various criminal justice agencies in Cheshire have now been maintained for a significant period of time.
“They clearly demonstrate the importance we all place on delivering a high quality service to victims and witnesses in the county.”
The Cheshire Criminal Justice Board was set up in April 2003 and aims to improve co-operation between criminal justice agencies to deliver a joined-up criminal justice service and to improve the way justice works in Cheshire.
The board is made up of chief officers from Cheshire’s criminal justice agencies, including Warrington’s Risley Prison, the Halton and Warrington Youth Offending Team, the police, Crown Prosecution Service, probation service, etc.
There are three witness care units in the county, including one in Warrington, which offer personalised support for victims and witnesses of crime from charge right through to sentencing. There is also a witness service operating in all courts, offering pre-trial familiarisation visits in addition to emotional and practical support on the day of the trial.
