Business Victim Information

All businesses or enterprises (such as charities) that are victims of crime are entitled to:

• receive services under the Code provided they give a named point of contact for all communication between the business and service provider
• make an Impact Business Statement. This will be offered to a named contact at the business. The Officer may record this with you at the same time as a witness statement is taken or, you can complete one later and send it by post or by email
• say whether your business would like to have relevant parts of the Impact Business Statement read aloud by a CPS Prosecutor before the defendant is sentenced. Whether all or part of the Impact Statement is read aloud is subject to the discretion of the Court

The Impact Statement outlines how a crime has affected the business. The court must pass what it judges to be the appropriate sentence taking into consideration the circumstances of the offence and of the offender and where the court considers it appropriate, the impact on any victims.

Guidance on how to complete the Impact Business Statement is contained within the document. The statement provides the business with a voice in the criminal justice process, but should not express an opinion on the sentence or punishment the offender should receive.

As named point of contact for the business, you can submit the statement by email or by post to the police. Making an Impact Business Statement does not prevent an individual victim from making a separate Victim Personal Statement. You or a member of staff may have been personally affected by the crime. This is voluntary and no pressure will be placed to make a Victim Personal Statement.

A business may make another Impact Statement to add to, clarify or amend the existing statement at a later date, provided this is before the case comes to court or the suspect is sentenced. When submitting a statement, it will be in accordance with section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967.

If the case reaches court, the Impact Statement will be disclosed to the defence. The named contact that made the statement may be required to attend a court hearing and be questioned on this statement.

Our Duty

The investigating police officer will offer a named contact for the business an opportunity to make an Impact Statement, refer them to guidance on how to complete this, and forward a completed statement to the CPS.

The CPS must ensure that an Impact Business Statement or Victim personal Statement is brought to the attention of the court where appropriate.

Resources

If your business has suffered a crime, you may find the following resources of practical benefit.

All business crime victims are entitled to make a Business Impact Statement, find the form below. Download and complete a Personal Impact Statement form if you or one of your employees wish to describe how the crime has impacted personally.

Send either, or both forms by post or email for the attention of your Investigating Officer.

We have crime prevention advice for a range of circumstances.

Visit the government website relating to Impact Statements for Business guidance.