Protection of victims when reporting a crime

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.027569

I note you seek access to the following information:

I would like to know what the police response would be in a case where a victim is reluctant to report a criminal because they are scared the criminal will use their connections to get a friend to attack the victim, e.g. the victim knows the criminal is a member of a gang and has attacked people and arranged for others to attack people, meaning the victim is scared if they report the criminal’s abuse of them they will be attacked as retaliation.

How would the police ensure the victim remains protected from the criminal, thereby allowing them to report the crime?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

The MPS are unable to answer your request specifically. It all depends on the specific circumstances and nature of the threats etc.

But in essence, anyone has the ability to report a crime anonymously through Crimestoppers. Information can be passed on and the victim/informant would not be contacted or even know where the information comes from.

If there is a threat to someone’s life due to information they may know or can potentially pass on, the MPS can then have some specialist trained officers to speak with that individual and make an assessment and where necessary put some protection measures in for that person.

Without knowing further information of a scenario, it is challenging to answer your request in specific detail.