Essex Police and Kent Police
PSE - Witness Care Officer (Ashford)
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Location of Role: Ashford Advert Closing Date: 26/08/2026 Starting Salary: £27,492.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies) Part/Full Time: Full Time Contract Type: Secondment/fixed-term Working Pattern: Mon-Fri Weekend/Evening Working: No
The Victim & Witness Care Unit is seeking motivated and enthusiastic individuals to join the team on a fixed-term contract or secondment opportunity, currently agreed until 31 March 2027.
The role offers flexible working, with the option to work from home up to 2 days per week where appropriate. The successful candidate will usually attend the office 3 days per week, including one compulsory day at Compass House, Ashford. Office attendance will be required every day for the first three weeks to support training.
This role supports victims and witnesses through the Criminal Justice process by providing timely contact, accurate information, and appropriate support in line with statutory requirements. You will manage contact at key stages of a case, help ensure witnesses are supported to attend court and give their best evidence, and work in accordance with the Victims’ Code of Practice, No Witness, No Justice, and the Witness Charter.
Main Responsibilities
- Manage your own caseload ensuring victims and witnesses are supported to attend court where required.
- Complete detailed needs assessments and ensure all information is recorded accurately.
- Ensure appropriate support is offered and arranged, including travel, accommodation, special measures, and restorative justice referrals.
- Respond to queries and issues raised by victims and witnesses, ensuring compliance with the Victims’ Code.
- Support colleagues by managing additional caseloads during periods of absence.
- Respond to queries from partner agencies, including CPS, courts, police officers, and victim/witness support services, providing advice and guidance in line with Force policy and data protection requirements.
- Work in accordance with Witness Care Unit process timelines, CPS target dates, and other service level agreement timeframes.
- Maintain regular contact with relevant agencies and share witness information appropriately where required.
- Maintain a working knowledge of current policies relating to victim and witness care and engage with all training as directed by the Witness Care Unit.
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You will be able to manage your own workload daily, take a proactive approach, and respond effectively to urgent requests as they arise. You will also need to demonstrate an ability to work independently, with strong written and verbal communication skills, adapting your style to a wide range of situations and individuals.
You must be able to demonstrate good problem-solving and decision-making skills to ensure effective management of cases and witnesses through the Criminal Justice System. You will have a sound knowledge of the Criminal Justice environment, policy, and procedure with an understanding of victim care. A certain level of flexibility is expected to deal accordingly with late court warnings or urgent witness issues which may arise.
You may be required to speak with victims and witnesses from all walks of life, including individuals who may be vulnerable, reluctant, frustrated, angry, or abusive due to their experience of the Criminal Justice System. You will need to remain professional, supportive, and resilient while ensuring the appropriate level of care and information is provided.
The Victim & Witness Care Unit uses Athena, an online police database, to access relevant case information. Sound IT skills and knowledge of Microsoft 365 are desirable, although not essential, as full training will be provided during the initial training period.
The nature of crime work is often distressing and sensitive as we deal with rape, child abuse, and other sexual offences as well as murder and offences against the person. The work within the Witness Care Unit demands resilience, dedication, and commitment.
Full in-house training will be provided during the initial learning period.
The Victim and Witness Care Unit is a centre of excellence; we are looking for two team members who embody this ethos and apply a positive approach to their daily commitments.
Within your application, please ensure you provide evidence of the essential criteria: knowledge of the Criminal Justice System, Strong verbal and written communication skills, and ability to prioritise workloads.
For any queries, please contact V&W Care Unit Manager Nikki Burns: Nikki.burns@kent.police.uk
Kent Police offer incremental increases within this salary band, therefore the salary for this position will rise to a maximum of £31,731.00.
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Your application for this role will be shortlisted on the content you provide within the “reason for application” question, within the application form itself. CV’s, covering letters, or attachments are not included in the shortlist. Within your “reason for application” answer, please refer to any experience, skills, and abilities you feel you have that will make you suitable for this role, based on the role criteria stated in the job advert or job description. Please provide as much detail as possible as insufficient content may mean you do not meet the shortlisting criteria, however, please note this question is limited to 9000 characters and this system will count spaces and blank lines as characters. This count may differ from the Microsoft Word word count function, therefore, you may wish to use a different online character counter to check the characters used.
All of our posts require a level of vetting and security clearance. During the recruitment process, you will be sent vetting information forms to complete.
Kent Police and Essex Police welcome applications regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, or employment status.
Please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the application process, or for further information regarding this position, please email us at recruitment.business.services@ecis.police.uk stating ‘Application Support and Adjustments’ in the title of your email. Alternatively, you can call us on 01245 452833. Where appropriate, we will make adjustments to the selection process, working arrangements, and/or the working environment provided it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.
If you’re not from the UK, you must be a resident in the UK and have lived here continuously for the last three years. You must also be free from restrictions with indefinite leave to remain. If you’re from the UK, you must have lived here continuously for the last three years. This doesn’t apply to those serving abroad in the British Armed Forces.
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