LXXVIII VA-001 – Victims’ Assistance

The Board believes that victims of crime, who have suffered harm and whose rights and security have been violated by crime, should be treated with compassion and fairness.  The intent of this policy is to support the principle that all victims should have access to the assistance and services to which they are entitled.

It is the policy of the Toronto Police Services Board that the Chief of Police will:

1. Establish procedures on providing assistance to victims that reflect the principles of the Victim’s Bill of Rights, 1995, and set out the roles and responsibilities of Service members providing victims’ assistance, including:
   1. working in partnership with the Ministry of the Attorney General’s Victim/Witness Assistance Program (V/WAP), Victim Services Program of Toronto Inc., community and social agencies and other local organizations, to promote the development of an integrated service delivery framework for providing assistance to victims, including risk assessment and safety planning;
   2. ensuring that members of the police service are aware of victim service providers or a victim referral service available in their local communities; and
   3. ensuring that in each instance where there is police service contact with one or more victims of crime involving physical and/or psychological injury, such victims are referred to Victim Services Program of Toronto Inc. and/or the appropriate community service available in their local communities in a timely manner.