Repeat victim support

Correspondence to Professor Ken Pease, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH Summary The occurrence of a crime may be regarded as a good predictorof where and when a further crime will occur. In consequence,a practical form of support for victims may well be the preventionof repeat victimization. To a variable and largely unknown extent,this approach is already being implemented by Victim Supportvolunteers. Making such practice routine might provide a worthwhilesupplement to the services which Victim Support already offers.Some ways are suggested in which this approach might be developed.The effectiveness of such an approach would be measured in termsof customer (victim) satisfaction and lower than expected ratesof swift repeat victimizations. It is stressed that Victim Supportmay turn out not to be a viable platform for the delivery ofcombined support—prevention services, although it shouldbe the agency first considered for this role. Possible experimentaltest-beds for such an approach are proposed.     

The Introduction of Contracts in a Family Service Unit

Summary An article written by John Corden, in an earlier issue of thejournal, examined the application of the concept of contractin social work practice, drawing on the legal paradigm. Thispaper develops some of these ideas in a more specific way; itdescribes the way in which contracts were introduced betweenthe workers and clients of a Family Service Unit After settingout the context in which the idea was introduced, the differentfeatures of some contracts between workers and families arereported, along with the views of the different parties. Thismaterial is used to illustrate and develop some of the ideasdiscussed in the earlier paper.