01/09/2026
A major new campaign has been launched by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster and Victims’ Advocate, Natalie Queiroz to ensure more people know their rights as a victim of crime.
The campaign follows a region-wide awareness survey which found that, despite the Victims Code having been around for over 20 years, just 2.5 per cent of almost 1,000 people spoken to across the West Midlands were able to demonstrate any knowledge of the Victims’ Code – highlighting a significant gap in public awareness.
The Victims’ Code sets out the rights and minimum level of service victims of crime should receive from criminal justice agencies, including the right to have the details of the crime recorded without unjustified delay, to be provided with information when reporting the crime, to be referred to victim support services, to make a victim personal statement and make a complaint if those rights are not met.
Throughout September and into early October, eye-catching digital adverts carrying the message ‘Victim? Don’t lose sight of your rights’ will appear on mobile phones, digital billboards and inside buses and trains across the West Midlands.
Many of the adverts feature a QR code linking directly to the OPCC’s dedicated Victims’ Code webpage, making it easier than ever for people to understand the rights they are entitled to.
The campaign forms part of a wider programme of engagement, with OPCC staff continuing to deliver awareness events across the region and attending university and college freshers’ and welcome fairs in the coming weeks to speak directly with students and staff about the Victims’ Code and the support available to victims of crime.
The campaign is also being strengthened through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victims’ Code Innovation Fund, which is supporting voluntary and community organisations to raise awareness of victims’ rights among communities that can often face additional barriers to accessing information and support.
Projects include SignHealth, which is creating British Sign Language resources and delivering workshops for deaf victims; RSVP (R**e & Sexual Violence Project), which is training individuals to empower victims of sexual violence; and Support After Murder and Manslaughter, which is developing multilingual resources and digital content to help families bereaved by homicide better understand the Victims’ Code.
Other funded organisations are delivering innovative projects for young people, South Asian women, Romanian and Polish communities, victims of sexual violence and other underrepresented groups across the West Midlands. The fund will support nine projects across the region, helping ensure more victims understand and can exercise their rights.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said:
“I am deeply concerned that 20 years after the Victims Code was introduced only 2.5 per cent of people could demonstrate any knowledge of the Code. That simply is not good enough.
“The Victims’ Code exists to protect victims, survivors and witnesses. It sets out clear minimum rights and entitlements which criminal justice agencies must provide, yet far too many people do not know these rights exist.
“The rights and welfare of victims, survivors and witnesses must always be at the forefront of policing and the wider criminal justice system. Too often, policing and criminal justice agencies are failing to comply with the Victims’ Code of Practice. That is unacceptable and it must change.
“Compliance with the Victims’ Code is a core part of my Police and Crime Plan 2025-2029 because every victim is entitled to be treated with compassion, dignity and respect, to receive the support they are entitled to, and to have confidence that their rights will be upheld.
“This campaign has one clear message: as a victim, you have rights that you are entitled to and criminal justice agencies must comply with them.”
West Midlands Victims’ Advocate Natalie Quieroz MBE added:
“The Victims’ Code is one of the most important ‘guides’ available to anyone affected by crime, but it can only make a difference if people know about it.
“Every victim deserves to understand their rights from the very beginning of their journey throughout the whole criminal justice system. By raising awareness, we are helping to empower victims to ask for the support, information and services they are entitled to receive.
“The Victims’ Code serves as a ‘map’ to help people navigate the generally obscure and confusing criminal justice system.
“I encourage everyone to take a few moments to learn about the Victims’ Code because knowing your rights can make a real difference at what is often one of the most challenging times in a person’s life.”
