Policies

Our service is confidential, and we will attempt to protect your confidentiality and will not pass on your personal details or any other information that could identify you without your permission.

This will be the case unless:
– we believe there is a risk of harm to you or someone else
– there is a legal requirement for us to disclose your information

The following examples explain how and when we may have to disclose information, both with and without your permission.

We can always share information with other people/agencies if we have your informed consent to do so, for example with Criminal Injuries Compensation Services to progress a claim you’re making.

If you give us reason to believe that you or someone else is at risk of significant harm, we may need to inform another agency such as social services or the police. Unless that risk is imminent we will try to discuss the situation with you before disclosing anything.

If we suspect that a child or young person is at risk of harm we must inform social services. This is a legal requirement.

If a judge directs that information must be disclosed to the court, we will comply with the direction, but we will always try to let you know before we do so.

Victim Support NI may record calls for quality and training purposes.

Victim Support NI is often asked by the media to provide ‘case studies’ to explain the impact of crime on individuals and to illustrate the wider issues around a particular crime. We do so only with the consent of the individuals involved. If you would like to take part in research, or be available for media interviews, you can let us know using our Contact Form or by emailing info@victimsupportni.org.uk

Victim Support NI want to make sure that the services we provide meet our client’s needs and are delivered in a supportive and respectful manner in line with our organisational values and the legal rights of victims and witnesses laid out in the Victim and Witness Charters.

Feedback helps us to highlight the areas of service delivery that are working well and identify those that require attention.

Feedback from our clients about their experiences with the criminal justice system and support services can also provide us with evidence which allows us to advocate for the needs of victims and witnesses within the wider sector, and to lobby for governmental and legislative change.

Victims of crime often feel disempowered by the crime itself and Victim Support NI strives to ensure that the services they provide are of the highest standard. We believe that by actively encouraging and supporting victims to feedback (either positively or negatively) about the service they received, this in turn can be used as a catalyst to empower victims to address the areas in which the crime has negatively impacted on their lives.

As an organisation, we seek to learn from the feedback so that we can continuously improve our service delivery.  We appreciate any feedback you can provide.  Details on how to send us feedback can be found at the bottom of this page.

WHAT WE DO WITH YOUR FEEDBACK

All feedback will be taken seriously and will be logged.

Where a complaint is made an investigation will be undertaken with the aim of ensuring that maximum learning is achieved, and that any poor performance identified can be appropriately addressed.

Equally, compliments will be passed on to the individuals or teams concerned, and these will be used as examples of good practice.

OUR FEEDBACK PROCEDURE:

Compliments

Victim Support NI wish to hear from people when we get things right. This helps us to:

• understand what services people value and why;
• share good practice;
• make sure we learn and develop in a way which keeps providing a good service to our clients; and
• recognise the role played by our volunteers and staff
• establish a research base of clients who may be willing to engage in future research or media opportunities

Whilst clients regularly thank us for the help we provide, we will actively seek to explore specific comments received about a service provided to understand what made the difference to the client. This will in turn help to inform practice development and quality assurance.

Complaints

Victim Support NI values the unique role we play in supporting people affected by crime and are committed to ensuring that the services we provide meet the client’s needs and are delivered in a supportive and respectful manner. It recognises that in most services, people do not tend to complain and that a low complaints procedure is not necessarily an indicator of high satisfaction or performance levels.

Client satisfaction

Victim Support NI is committed to its vision of a society that ensures that the appropriate support and information is available to people affected by crime. We recognise the role that our services play in the achievement of this vision and will regularly survey clients to gauge their experience and satisfaction with the services we provide to ensure they are fit for purpose. The survey process will also capture client section 75 data which will be used to help ensure that our services are accessible to all victims of crime, regardless of age, gender, religion, ethnic origin, disability or sexual orientation.  Information gained through this process also assists the organisation to build strong evidence of the victim experience enabling us to speak up and speak out for victims and witnesses.  More information on the Victim and Witness Charters can be found here.

HOW WE WILL RESPOND

We aim to respond to all compliments and complaints in a timely manner.
In the case of a complaint which cannot be immediately resolved and requires an investigation, we will send a written update on the progress of the complaint within 4 weeks and in most cases, will aim to have the complaint resolved to all sides’ satisfaction within 8 weeks.  In a small minority of cases, this may take longer, but we will keep you regularly updated on the progress of your complaint if this occurs.

In cases where we believe a crime has been committed, we will inform the PSNI unless you ask us not to.

HOW TO SEND FEEDBACK

If you would like to send us any feedback – positive or negative, you can do so using the contact form here:

You can also contact us by phone during office hours at:
Belfast Hub – 028 9024 3133
Foyle Hub – 028 7137 0086

Alternatively, you can email us at any time using belfast@victimsupportni.org.uk or foyle@victimsupportni.org.uk

Victim Support Northern Ireland provides victims with free and confidential emotional and practical assistance and information about the criminal justice system. Trained volunteers and staff deliver this assistance throughout Northern Ireland.

Victim Support NI is a “controller” and also a “processor” of personal data and fully committed to ensuring all personal data and sensitive personal data is handled fairly and lawfully and with due regard to confidentiality, dignity and respect.

Why do we collect and store your personal data?

We only collect and store personal data with your consent.  We must collect and process certain types of personal data about our service users in order to operate and provide services, for example:

• Details of people who contact our services for support and assistance
• The type of support provided to individuals
• Statistical information on victims and witnesses and others affected by crime

The personal data is held so we can contact and assess service users to assist us:

• Provide the best possible service to people affected by crime, including to monitor and evaluate our service
• To campaign for improved rights and services for people affected by crime

In the event that we utilise the services of third party providers to assist us in the delivery of our stated activities we will ensure there are legal agreements in place to govern the limited usage of that data.

We also hold personal data on staff, volunteers, service suppliers and other professional business contacts.

What information will we collect and store?

Typically, we will collect contact details i.e. name, address, telephone number and email address but only if you allow us to do so.  We will also collect any other applicable information which will help support victims of crime e.g. what happened to you and notes of any discussions we have with you.

We will not collect any personal data from you we do not need in order to provide and oversee our service to you.

Will VSNI share my personal data?

Personal data held by VSNI will not be shared with any other agency without your consent unless we have to because of the law or we have justifiable concerns about your well-being.

How long will you keep my personal data?

We will only keep your personal data for as long as we need it to help us to provide a service to you or until you tell us you no longer wish us to hold your personal data in line with our Records, Data and Retention Policy.

What are my rights?

If at any point you believe the information we process on you is incorrect you can request to see this information and have it corrected or deleted. If you wish to raise a complaint on how we have handled your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer who will investigate the matter.

Individuals can see the personal data we store and a subject access request can be made through our Data Protection Officer.

Our Data Protection Officer can be contacted at IT@victimsupportni.org.uk.

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

The ICO can be contacted at the address below:

The Information Commissioner’s Office – Northern Ireland
3rd Floor
14 Cromac Place,
Belfast
BT7 2JB

Telephone: 028 9027 8757 / 0303 123 1114