Victim Services

Assessment Tool

BEHA 91

Victim Input Form

Introduction

For the purpose of my research paper, I chose to work on the Victim Input Form, an assessment tool used at the Victim/Witness Assistance Program (VWAP), my placement agency. VWAP provides information, assistance and referral to victims and witnesses of crime to increase their understanding and participation in the court process. Their services are provided to victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, homicide and traffic fatality. VWAP becomes involved once charges are laid by the police and will continue until the court case is over.

As eighty percent of VWAP’s caseload is related to domestic violence, staff members often assess safety needs of these victims to determine how best to help them. Developing a safety plan, providing referrals to community agencies or obtaining an input from the victim for the Crown Attorney are some of the immediate services that VWAP provides to victims of domestic violence in the initial stages.

As listed in the Ministry of the Attorney General’s guidelines, the Victim Input Form fulfils three main purposes:

• To provide a VWAP client’s input to the Crown Attorney’s Office only

• To inform the Crown and the Police about safety issues

• To ensure consistency of practice across the province

As the completed Victim Input Form is provided to the Crown’s Office prior to an accused appearing in Bail Court, it is crucial that the victim is contacted by the staff as soon as notification of the crime is received. This process has helped me to observe and understand the role various agencies play in ensuring the safety of the victim and their family which is of the paramount.

Individuals Involved

VWAP becomes involved once police lay charges and a notification is received from one of the three police forces that serves Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry and Akwesasne. This notification has information on the victim, the accused, the incident and the...