Anna Sigfridsson, project manager, CVCSA

1. Witness Support Service
in Sweden
Zagreb, November 28-29,
2012
Anna Sigfridsson,
project manager
CVCSA
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2. Short historic overview
1971 Compensation for personal injury
1978 The Criminal Injuries Compensation Act
1988 Criminal injuries compensation for gross violation of personal integrity
Right to counsel for the injured party
1994 The Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority+Crime Victim Fund
Right to information on Crime Victim Rights
Right to support person during the preliminary investigation and trial
1998 Gross violation of women's integrity
2000 Special legal representation for children
2006 The right to state compensation for children witnessing violence in close
relationships
2011 Commission on Criminal Injuries Compensation Act
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3. The Crime Victim Compensation
and Support Authority (CVCSA)
Overall objective:
Acts for the interest and needs of Crime Victims
Three national responsibilities
• Criminal Injuries Compensation
• The Crime Victim Fund
• Centre of Competence
Established in 1994, subordinate to the Ministry of Justice
Staff – about 50 persons, located in Umeå
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4. The Crime Victim Fund
• Established in 1994
• Financed by convicted offenders
•Economic support to activities and research
• Political standpoint: offenders should
contribute to a better situation for crime victims
• Fee: 500 SEK (58 EUR) or 50 SEK up to a
maximum of 6 000 SEK (electronic supervision)
• Revenue: 30-35 million SEK (3,5-4,1mn EUR)
• Applications: about 140 million SEK per year
(16,3 mn EUR) 4

5. Centre of Competence
Seminars, presentations, training for professionals, information
material. Websites:
Brottsoffermyndigheten.se, Courtintroduction.se
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6. In the Swedish
criminal justice procedure…
Police/prosecutor must inform the victim on:
• Possibilities to claim for damages within the criminal
justice process
• Possibilities of assistance by a support person or a
counsel for the injured party
• Possibilities to a visiting/contact ban
• Organisations providing help and support
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7. What is Witness
Support Service?
• Volunteers
• At court: in the waiting room and in
separate witness support service rooms
• Mainly before and after the hearing
• Gives practical help, information and
emotional support
• Primarily to victims and witnesses
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8. Background
• Started 1995 by a local Victim Support organisation in
Växjö (southern Sweden)
• Governmental commission in 2001: Establish witness
support service. The Crime Victim Compensation and
Support Authority and the National Courts Administration
work together with Victim Support Sweden
• New commission in 2006: Make sure that there are witness
support service in all district courts and courts of appeal
• Report to the Government in 2008, what has been done
and suggestions for the future
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9. Witness support service now
• Coordinator in all places, employed in 53 % of
the organisations, on a volunteer basis in 47 %
• Training programme and material approved by
the Authority and/or Victim Support Sweden
• Programme: criminal justice procedure, other
actors’ roles, reactions to crime, practical
issues, promise of silence, practical training at
court
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10. The Authority’s role
and responsibility
• Producing training material
• Assuring equal quality around Sweden
• Training of coordinators
• Yearly mapping of service and courts
• Forming and reviewing of national outlines
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11. How does Witness Support
Service help?
• Better information to victims and witnesses about court
proceedings, makes them calmer and reduces stress
• Better prepared witnesses and victims means they can
give better statements – improves the quality of the
hearing
• Improved hearings – improved legal security
• Better treatment of victims and witnesses results in a
higher opinion of the criminal justice system among the
public
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12. Financing from the CV Fund
• Main finanicer of Victim Support Sweden and
witness support services around the country
• Core financing to local Victim Support centres
• Project money, for example for coordination
of witness support service in largest courts
and for recruiting and training of volunteers
• witness support service grant for costs for
volunteers, lunch, travel costs, small tokens
of appreciation
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13. Thanks for listening!
Anna Sigfridsson
Project Manager Witness Support Service
Tel. + 46 90-70 82 44
anna.sigfridsson@brottsoffermyndigheten.se
www.brottsoffermyndigheten.se
www.courtintroduction.se
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