Witness Service Court Volunteer - Hove Crown Court

The Witness Service, provided by Victim Support, welcomes people who want to volunteer to support victims and witnesses through the court process.

If you’re interested in the criminal justice system, have some spare time to give and are looking for an opportunity to help within the local community, this could be the right place for you.

As a Witness Service volunteer, you’ll be joining a team of trained staff and volunteers who are committed to supporting witnesses to give their best evidence in court. Some of the things you might be doing include:

• Providing information to witnesses when they come to court
• Answering questions about how the court system works
• Facilitating pre-trial visits and virtual court tours
• Supporting witnesses in the run-up to trial (in person or by video or phone).

Benefits

Working as a volunteer can bring many benefits, including improved wellbeing. You’ll also gain new skills and learn more about the criminal justice system in England and Wales. This is a brilliant opportunity to meet new people and help give something back to the community.

As a Witness Service volunteer, you’ll be working alongside staff and other volunteers who want to help people who have either witnessed or experienced crime. You’ll be supporting them to give their best evidence in court, ensuring their voice is heard and making a positive impact on their lives.

Practical Considerations

Expenses are reimbursed for travel (mileage, parking, public transport) plus lunch.

Support Disabled

We make reasonable adjustments to enable everyone to volunteer but it needs to be where our resources and the court building allow. Support needs can be discussed at application / interview / onboarding stages.

What skills do I need?

As a volunteer, you’ll be friendly and understanding, and confident in supporting people through an anxious time. You’ll be empathetic, non-judgemental, and have good listening and communication skills. You’ll also be comfortable in supporting people from a wide variety of backgrounds.

You may want to have a think about how much time you’re able to give to volunteering with us. In our court-based roles you’ll need to be able to attend court for one day a week, while our outreach roles are more flexible.

We encourage you to volunteer for at least 12 months to help you to get the most out of the experience and provide some consistency for the victims and witnesses that we support.

We also ask that you’re able to access the internet for communication and online training and have an active email account so we can contact you easily. You should be comfortable using online forms where we collect information to monitor and evaluate the services we provide. You’ll receive full training.