Public and third sector resources
GOV.UK provides extensive information on crime, justice and the law, covering:
Courts, sentencing and tribunals – including attending courts, paying fines, appealing a sentence, jury service and tribunals
Prisons and probation – including sentencing, probation and support for families of prisoners
Reporting crimes and getting compensation – including criminal injuries compensation and reporting suspected crimes
Young people and the law – including legal rights, youth offending teams and crime prevention
Your rights and the law – including being arrested, cautions, discrimination and consumer rights
Criminal Law Solicitors Association (CLSA) has a directory which enables you to search for a CLSA member solicitor by area (postcode), by name (of the solicitor or of the firm) or by the court.
Victim Support is a voluntary agency that helps people affected by crime and provides support and information to help them deal with their experience.
Police
Crime and policing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland provides links to the police forces around the country and related organisations as well as lots of information on the police services generally. This is the official Home Office site on this topic.
Prisons
HM Prison Service is the official GOV.UK site on this topic. The site provides information for the families of prisoners so as to “explain” the process of prison life. There is an extensive list of organisations associated with prisons and their families and the full text of “Prisons Service Orders”. There is also a list of all prisons with information on opening hours and how to get there, a section “about prison life” and prison statistics.
Scottish Prisons Service provides information on prisons in Scotland.
Criminal injuries compensation
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is a Non-Departmental Public Body which administers the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Since its introduction in 1964, it has provided some tangible acknowledgement of societys sympathy for innocent victims of violent crime or those injured trying to apprehend criminals or prevent a crime. They receive over 40,000 applications for compensation each year and spend in excess of £200,000,000 per year in compensation payments. The site describes the scheme, provides the forms in pdf format and gives advice on how to apply for compensation.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (CICAP) has the role of determining appeals against decisions made by the The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) (as above) solely arising from claims for compensation for criminal injuries made on and after 1 April 1996 under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. You can search for decisions under Eligibility, Compensation and Procedure and then refine the search with keywords and date (decisions are in pdf format). You can also find information about hearings in any particular area and download the form.
CICA-UK is a trading name of The Dures Partnership Solicitors, based in Liverpool, acting for clients all around the country. People who have been physically or mentally injured can apply to the CICA for compensation ranging from £1,000 to £500,000 and CICA-UK will assist with this process. There is quite a lot of information about how it all works on their site.
