How the Victim Care Unit streamlined referrals, strengthened GDPR compliance, and improved multi-agency collaboration with myVCU and myRJ
Devon & Cornwall Police’s Victim Care Unit (VCU) is a dedicated team responsible for assessing the needs of victims of crime and connecting them with the right support. Whether a victim needs advice and information, signposting to local services, or a formal referral, the VCU ensures every individual receives a tailored response. The team works closely with a network of local service providers commissioned by the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) Office, referring victims — with their consent — to services that best match their needs.
Alongside victim care, Devon & Cornwall Police also deliver a restorative justice service, connecting those who have caused harm with those affected in a safe and structured way. Both services needed a modern, purpose-built case management system that could support their complex multi-agency workflows while keeping sensitive data secure.
Devon & Cornwall Police’s Victim Care Unit faced several operational challenges that needed to be addressed:
While the force records crimes on its own crime recording system, the VCU needed its own dedicated space to manage case notes and victim interactions — separate from the wider police system but integrated with their workflow.
With a network of commissioned services across Devon and Cornwall, the team needed a streamlined way to send referrals to the right provider quickly and securely, without relying on manual processes like posting letters.
The VCU holds highly sensitive victim information that must be protected under strict information sharing agreements. They needed a system where their data was locked down from service providers, while still enabling appropriate two-way collaboration.
The force also delivers restorative justice services and needed a linked but separate system to manage RJ cases, including the ability to refer cases to partner providers through a single, joined-up platform.
Devon & Cornwall Police implemented both myVCU for victim care and myRJ for restorative justice, giving them a joined-up platform across both services:
A secure, separate workspace for the VCU to manage case notes and victim interactions outside of the force’s crime recording system, giving the team the autonomy they needed.
Referrals to commissioned service providers are now sent directly through the platform. Service providers pick up cases instantly — replacing the manual process of sending letters and delivering clear cost savings.
The platform enforces strict data boundaries: the VCU team can see their own data but not the service providers’, and vice versa. Each partner organisation has its own secure, locked-down area.
Information sharing agreements are built into the system’s architecture. Sensitive VCU data is protected while still enabling the controlled flow of information needed for effective multi-agency working.
The restorative justice team uses myRJ as their case management system, with built-in referral pathways to partner RJ providers — all managed through the same familiar platform.
The VCU team and Connektivity worked collaboratively on templates and configuration. The supervisor and team designed the workflows, agreed the commercial model, and went live with minimal disruption.
It’s integral to what we do really, because it’s our case management system. We needed our own area, separate to the force’s crime recording system, where we keep our own case notes and can give access to our services so that we can just literally put referrals through via myVCU.
Eliminated the manual process of posting referral letters to service providers. Referrals now flow digitally through the platform, saving time and cost while getting victims to support faster.
Sensitive victim data is locked down with granular access controls, ensuring information sharing agreements are enforced at a system level rather than relying on manual processes.
Service providers have their own secure areas within the system, enabling effective collaboration without compromising the VCU’s sensitive case data.
Both the Victim Care Unit and the restorative justice team now work from a single, integrated platform, improving coordination and ensuring a consistent experience for victims and participants.
From the Victim Care Unit Manager at Devon & Cornwall Police.
The ability for myVCU to show us the data that we record, but for that to be locked down just for us as a team, is essential. There’s a lot of information that we have to record that isn’t appropriate to share with the service providers. It’s a really safe way of working and it makes our information sharing agreements work.
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