Police code promotes victim support

A quarter of people in England and Wales are 'crime victims'

Victims of crime and their relatives should be treated as "partners" in police investigations, according to a new manual published by Scotland Yard on Thursday.

The guidelines follow the MacPherson report's criticism of the inadequate police support given to the parents of Stephen Lawrence during the investigation into his murder.

The importance of the relationship between police and the families of victims is emphasised in the new manual.

Home secretary Jack Straw has pledged to help victims of crime

Anything short of direct dialogue with the family of a victim has the potential to impair or weaken the investigation, it states.

It says relatives should be treated in accordance with their "diverse needs".

Race, gender and sexuality should be carefully considered when police family liaison officers are assigned to help them, it adds.

The government has also pledged to focus more on crime victims, and last month unveiled a package of measures to promote this.

Extra cash, a Bill of Rights and an ombudsman for victims of crime were key parts of the package.

It also included an extra £6m to boost services for witnesses and victims in courts, £400,000 for the Rape Crisis Federation and a 50% increase in compensation payments to rape victims.

Experience of crime

England and Wales have the second highest number of crime victims in the western world, according to a major international survey published last month.

The 2000 International Crime Victims Survey, compiled by academics in the Netherlands, said 26% of people in England and Wales were victims of crime during 1999.

Only Australia had a higher rate - 30% - while in Scotland it was 23% and Northern Ireland had the lowest figure of any western nation surveyed, 15%.

The survey interviewed 2,000 people by phone in 17 countries, asking everyone the same questions about their experiences of crime.