What works in supporting victims of crime: a rapid evidence assessment

This report aims to bring together the best available international evidence on what works to support victims of crime in their journey through the criminal justice system and beyond, both for victims who report the crimes committed against them and those who do not. A rapid evidence assessment methodology was adopted in order to achieve a rigorous and replicable search of the literature. In addition to a review of the literature examining the factors which have contributed to the development of victims’ services, a total of 28 papers were included in the analysis from a range of countries including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Sweden and Slovenia. The data from the papers were extracted and assessed in terms of the strength of the evidence they present. This report presents a thematic analysis of that data.