What is the Adult Service?
Commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the Adult Service is delivered as part of the London Victims and Witness Service (LVWS) and provides support for London residents 18 years and over who are affected by or witness to crime.
If you have been a victim or witness of crime the Adult Service can provide you with dedicated support through your criminal justice journey and/or your journey through cope and recovery from your experience.
How we can support you
Depending on the crime you’ve experienced and its impact, we can provide you with advocacy, safety planning, practical and emotional support. Adult Service caseworkers provide support, which is trauma and culturally informed. We tailor our support to your needs, so you can access the right support at the right time.
The Adult Service works in tandem with criminal justice partners to increase compliance with the Victims Code to ensure victims and witnesses are informed of their rights and provided with key entitlements.
The Adult Service is supported by a dedicated 24/7 in-bound call service, 0808 168 9291, and a live chat service.
Victims and witnesses can access support at any stage of their criminal justice or cope and recovery journey. We primarily receive referrals from the police after reporting crime, but we also accept self-referrals and other agency referrals via our online referral form.
What happens after a referral is made?
Upon accessing the service, a comprehensive needs assessment will be undertaken to review the impact of crime and what support you might need.
Through the Adult Service you can expect to receive high quality, victim and witness led support. Our tailored and trauma-informed support is delivered both in person and through a range of digital resources such as My Support Space, an online platform offering over 80 guides with resources for victims and witnesses of crime.
The Adult Service also provides support to people affected by terrorism and other major incidents of crime.
Service user engagement drives continuous improvement of the Adult Service; if you are interested in being part of our London Experts Network please send us an email.
If you’d like a caseworker from Victim Support to get in touch with you about support, you can complete our online referral form.
