Victim and Witness Satisfaction
PSA 24 indicator 3; increasing victim and witness satisfaction with the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
This indicator is made up of two linked measures:
- Victim and Witness satisfaction with the CJS; measured through the Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES).
- Victim satisfaction with the police; measured through police force surveys of victims
Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES)
WAVES is a national telephone survey of victims and witnesses in cases that have resulted in a criminal charge. The survey was first introduced by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) in late 2004 and was developed in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS). Its purpose is to provide information at a national (England and Wales) and Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB) level about victims' and witnesses' experiences of the Criminal Justice System, the services they receive and their satisfaction with different aspects of the system. The survey, undertaken quarterly by Ipsos-MORI, aims to conduct approximately 38,800 interviews a year, 9700 interviews each quarter.
WAVES covers victims and prosecution witnesses aged 18 and over in the following crime types; violence against the person; robbery; burglary; criminal damage; theft and handling stolen goods. We do not interview victims and witnesses in sensitive cases, such as, sexual offences or domestic violence, crimes involving a fatality, and any crime where the defendant was a family member or a member of the witnesses' or victims' household, on ethical grounds. Cases involving drugs are excluded. We also exclude police officers or other CJS official assaulted in the course of duty, and all police or expert witnesses.
WAVES asks victims and witnesses in cases where an offender was charged about all aspects of their experiences with the CJS, from their first contact with the police to their experience at court. Interviews ask people about the extent to which they were satisfied with the services they received. We include victims and witnesses who go to court as well as those who do not.
WAVES data relates to the period in which the case was finalised by the CJS, rather than the interview period. The baseline period covers cases closed six months to March 2008 (i.e. October 2007 to March 2008). The WAVES target indicator question, asked towards the end of the survey is:
Overall, were you satisfied with the contact you've had with the Criminal Justice System (CJS)?
The target here will be met if, over the three year period, there is a statistically significant increase (at the 95% level) in the proportion of victim and witnesses that are satisfied with their overall contact with the CJS. In addition to the national PSA target, LCJB areas have set their own local targets to strive to improve victim and witness satisfaction at a local level. The measure, baseline and reporting periods are the same as the national PSA target.