Part 1Victims of criminal conduct
Collaboration in exercise of victim support functions
I113Duty to collaborate in exercise of victim support functions
1
The relevant authorities for a police area in England must collaborate with each other in the exercise in the area of their functions in relation to relevant victim support services.
2
A relevant authority exercises a function in relation to relevant victim support services if it exercises the function in relation to—
a
the provision of such services, or
b
the commissioning of such services provided by another person.
3
The “relevant authorities” for a police area in England are—
a
the local policing body for the police area,
b
an integrated care board, established under Chapter A3 of Part 2 of the National Health Service Act 2006, all or part of whose area falls within the police area, and
c
a local authority, all or part of whose area falls within the police area.
4
For the purposes of subsection (3)(c), “local authority” means—
a
a county council,
b
a district council for an area for which there is no county council,
c
the Greater London Authority, or
d
the Council of the Isles of Scilly.
5
“Relevant victim support service” means a service, other than accommodation-based support, provided to support victims of criminal conduct which constitutes—
a
domestic abuse,
b
conduct of a sexual nature, or
c
serious violence.
6
In subsection (5), “accommodation-based support” and “domestic abuse” have the same meanings as in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (see sections 1 and 57 of that Act).
7
For the purposes of subsection (5)(c), “violence” includes—
a
violence against property, and
b
threats of violence,
but does not include terrorism within the meaning of the Terrorism Act 2000 (see section 1 of that Act).
8
In considering whether violence amounts to serious violence, the relevant authorities must, in particular, take into account—
a
the maximum penalty which could be imposed for any offence which the conduct constitutes, and
b
the impact of the conduct on any victim.
9
Collaboration under this section may include the processing of information within the meaning given by section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018.