THE Crown Prosecution Service has launched a new scheme to help victims of crime cope better with the process of the law.
Julia Drown, MP for South Swindon, opened a new suite at the CPS Wiltshire headquarters, on Greenways Business Park in Chippenham.
The suite is part of the Direct Communication with Victims Initiative, a national CPS campaign, which was introduced in Chippenham in October last year.
The scheme means that if charges are changed or dropped the victim is informed by the CPS, and not the police, as was previously the case.
But in certain kinds of case, such as racially aggravated crime, sexual offences, child abuse and fatalities, the CPS will also offer victims the chance to meet up with its staff to discuss the decision.
The suite was designed and opened to give victims a comfortable and private venue for such a meeting to take place.
The opening was backed by Wiltshire's Victim Support Service.
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