Currently victims and society are viewed as passive and marginal actors in crime.. Addressing victims’ needs can be viewed as burdensome and inconvenient by representatives of law enforcement agencies, hence the primary focus of law enforcement manifests as closing a case in due time or punishing the offender. Victimization often recurs when a person affected by crime turns to law enforcement agencies or even to their close family members. Hence it is necessary to introduce a comprehensive approach that would place victims needs on the policy agenda, shift perspective and modus operandi in law enforcement agencies and in society at large, and last, but not least, support and empower victims. This project proposes four specific goals:  

1. To provide research based strategic and policy recommendations for development of good victims policies that address victims’ needs, and respond to crime in a balanced and restorative way;
2. To improve information and support available to victims of crime;
3. To enhance understanding about the benefits of a restorative response to crime and responsiveness towards victims’ needs among law enforcement agencies, media and society at large;
4. To improve cooperation and networking among state agencies and NGOs working with victims of crime in Latvia and beyond.

These issues are addressed through a complex approach entailing four groups of activities:

1. Empirical research evaluating support for victims of crime in comparison to their needs;
2. Accessible information for victims through victims’ support portal;
3. Introduction of support circles for victims of crime;
4. Educational and public awareness campaign.

Project partners:

Legal Aid Administration,

Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Latvia;

The Information Centre of the Ministry of the Interior;

State Probation Service of Latvia;

Association Skalbes, (Latvia);

Centre against Abuse Dardedze, (Latvia);

Talsi Crisis Centre, (Latvia);

Institute of Law, (Lithuania);

Victims Support Europe (UK);

European Forum for Restorative Justice (Belgium);

Victims Support Scotland (UK)

Concrete project activities and results:

1. Infographs (in Latvian)

• Medijos vairāk stāstu, kas kalpo sabiedrības drošībai, nevis ziņkārei;
• Sods vai dialogs – kā atjaunot taisnīgumu?

2. Articles in public policy portal politika.lv (in Latvian):

• Vai cietušais ir svarīgs?
• Negribīgi ieraudzīta cietušo klātbūtne
• Policija sadzird cietušos
• Garantijas cietušajam
• Prioritātes kriminālprocesā
• Cietušajam izlīgumā nav jācieš
• Cietušā iespējas saņemt kaitējuma kompensāciju
• Cietušā tiesības izlīgumā
• Taisnīguma atjaunošana kā dziedināšana

3. Media coverage (in Latvian)

• Atbalsts noziegumos cietušajiem nav pietiekams (LTV1)
• Pētniece: Institūcijām cietušo atbalstam būtu jāstrādā vienoti (Diena.lv)
• Valstij ir parāds pret cietušo, jo nepasargāja (Saldus zeme) 
• Kriminālprocesa likums ir samērā progresīvs, bet prakse – ne tik (TVnet)
• PROVIDUS: Kriminālprocesa likums ir samērā progresīvs, bet prakse – ne pārāk (puaro.lv)
• Atbalsta sistēma noziegumos cietušajiem – vajadzīga un obligāta (lvportals.lv)
• Tiesiskuma atjaunošana kriminālprocesā (lvportals.lv) 
• Pētījuma prezentācija (LETA)
• Tiek īstenots cietušo atbalsta projekts (e-novads)
• Pieaug lietu skaits, kurās tiesu izpildītāji nav spējuši veikt mantas piedziņu (Frut.lv)

4. Discussion Media power and responsibility: life of victim after the crime (in Latvian: Mediju vara un atbildība: cietušā dzīve pēc nozieguma)

5. Support circles for victims. Further information (in Latvian): http://www.providus.lv/public/27785.html, http://ej.uz/aaskalbes, http://ej.uz/aadardedze

6. Website cietusajiem.lv 

• video about website Cietušajiem.lv – palīgs noziegumos cietušajiem un aculieciniekiem (in Latvian)

7. Conference Supporting Victims of Crime in Latvia: Challenges Incorporating EU Dimension

Conference presentations:

• Embracing the Victims’ Needs, why it matters. EU vision for substantial standards in regard to victims of crime (by Denisa Fikarova, European Commission, DG Justice)
• Prioritising Victims Needs and a Balanced Response (by David McKenna, President, Victim Support Europe)
• Taking victims’ rights seriously (by Albin Dearing, Programme Manager Research – Criminal Law and Criminal Justice)
• Prioritising victims’ needs: victims’ and practitioners’ perspective (by Daniela Bolivar Fernandez, PhD in criminology (KULeuven), coordinator research project Victims and restorative justice, European Forum for Restorative Justice)
• Veidojot vienotu un efektīvu cietušo aizsardzības un atbalsta sistēmu Latvijā – nākotnes scenāriji (by Andrejs Judins, Member of the Parliament of Republic of Latvia and researcher, PROVIDUS and Ilze Dzenovska, researcher, PROVIDUS)
• Existing Support Mechanisms for Victims of Crime in Lithuania (by Ilona Michailovič, Research Fellow of the Criminological Research Department, Law Institute of Lithuania)
• National Victim Support Service in Estonia (by Kaisa Üprus-Tali, Victim Support Service’s headspecialist, Estonian National Social Insurance Board)
• Make it happen for victims of crime in Portugal (by João Lázaro, President, Portuguese Association for Victim Support)
• Building a successful victim support service – experiences from Scotland (by Frida Wheldon, Head of Policy, Victim Support Europe)
• Cietušo vajadzības: jauna perspektīva Valsts porbācijas dienesta darbā (by Aleksandrs Dementjevs, Aleksandrs Dementjevs, Director of State Probation Service)
• Valsts kompensācija cietušajiem (by Irina Ļitvinova, Legal Aid Administration Latvia, Director)
• Valsts policijas loma cietušo vajadzību nodrošināšanā (by Andis Rinkevičs, State Police of Latvia, Project director “Preventing Repeat Victimization in the State Police”)

Confrence videos:

• Cietušo atbalsta sistēma pastāv, ja cietušie atzīst, ka tā pastāv (in Latvian)
• Valsts policija: Sistēmu jādarbina profesionāļiem (in Latvian)
• Atšķirība starp nelaimes gadījumu un uzbrukumu ir milzīga (in Latvian)
• Bāriņtiesa: Mūsu darbiniekiem nepieciešama apmācība  (in Latvian)
• Viņķele: Gandarījumu cietušajam var sniegt ne tikai pāridarītaja sodīšana (in Latvian)
• Katrs, kas ziņo par noziegumu – automātiski sasaistīts ar cietušo atbalstu (in English)
• Tikšanās un saruna ar uzbrucēju var būt atvieglojums cietušajam (in English)
• Igaunijas pieredze: Cietušo atbalstam jābūt lokālam un pieejamam (in English)
• Vairumā valstu cietušie nav politiķu prioritāte (in English) 

8. Seminars for professionals in victim protection in regions of Latvia

Presentations (in Latvian):

• Cietušā tiesības, to nodrošināšanas garantijas Latvijas kriminālprocesā (Rīgas seminārs)
• Cietušā tiesības, to nodrošināšanas garantijas Latvijas kriminālprocesā (Rēzeknes seminārs)
• Cietušo vajadzības: jauna perspektīva Valsts probācijas dienesta darbā
• Sākotnējā kontakta nozīme saskarsmē ar cietušo – Valsts policijas prakse
• Cietušo vajadzības pirmajā kontaktā
• Valsts kompensācijas cietušajiem 
• Saskarsme ar cietušajiem. Prasmju terniņš 

9. Results of questionnaire about victimication of inhabitants of Latvia (in Latvian)

10. Research

Summary of the research Provision for the needs of crime victims: support to prevention of victimisation in Latvia

Research Provision of the Needs of Crime Victims: Support to Prevention of Victimisation in Latvia

Country reports:

•  the Neatherlands (581.08 KB);
•  United Kingdom (Scotland) (392.43 KB) (incl.,  additional information (88.61 KB));
•  Lithuania (440.79 KB);
•  Hungary (401.64 KB);
•  Poland (619.78 KB);
•  Sweden (339.37 KB);
•  Estonia (654.58 KB).

With financial support from Criminal Justice Programme European Commission – Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security