Right to information

The police should tell you about:

• Free and confidential support services, which are available whether or not you report the crime.
• These might include services like:
  • Psychological support that can help if your mental health is suffering or if you are suffering from trauma or PTSD understanding emotions since the crime.
  • Support services that can help provide you with a different place to stay if you are in danger in your current home.

The police should explain how they can arrange for you to be referred to a service where you can get support. You will need to give your consent to the police to arrange this.

The police should also tell you about:

• Information and support if you are a child.
• What interpretation and translation services are available if English is not your first language.

The police should tell you about:

• How you can make a complaint about the crime and who you to contact about your complaint.
• Contact details of the person who will communicate with you about your case.

The police should tell you:

About when you are entitled to an interpreter or translator.

If you are making a criminal complaint, you are entitled to an interpreter if you need one.

You are entitled to have all written information given to you translated into a language you speak.

You may need the communications to be in a different language if English is not your first language.

The police should provide this information as soon as they can.

If the police refuse your request for interpretation or translation they must give you a reason why they are refusing. You should get this reason in writing.

Legal language can be complex and hard to understand. It does not matter how long you have been in Ireland for, you still have a right to information in a language you understand well.

All communication needs to be accessible for everyone to understand. You may need some information simplified.

You have a right to get all oral or written communications in a simple language you understand.

This could be in person or given to you electronically.

If, for example, you have a disability, an intellectual impairment or difficulty reading, you can make a request for plain English or easy-to-read formats or ask for plain English to be used

The police should give you information about the criminal justice system, including:

• Your role as a victim in the criminal justice process. What will happen next and how it will impact you.
• Information about the possibility of free legal aid, compensation and expenses.
• Your ability to partake in the case by giving evidence as a witness or giving a Victim Impact Statement at the sentencing stage.
• Special arrangements that can be put in place if you are not living in Ireland.
• Special arrangements that can be put in place if you are a child victim.
• Information about how you can be protected.
• Restorative justice: Where this process is available for example in cases where the offender was a young person and after a guilty plea or a guilty verdict if there is a trial.

The police should tell you:

1. That you can give evidence at trial if you are called as a witness for the prosecution.

2. At the sentencing stage, you can tell the court about how the crime impacted your life by writing a Victim Impact Statement.

The police should tell you:

How you can make a complaint if any of your rights explained on this website are breached and who you can complain to. You can make complaints to the police, the police or “Garda” Ombudsman Commission, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Courts Service, the Irish Prison Service, the director of a children’s detention school or the clinical director of a designated centre.

The police should tell you about your right to make a request for information and how to do this. If you want to receive information about the case, you must make a request.

A record should be taken of any information which you request.

Who can you request information from?

1. You can request information from:
2. The police
3. The police or Garda Ombudsman Commission
4. The Director of Public Prosecutions
5. The Irish Prison Service
6. The director of a children’s detention school
7. The clinical director of a designated centre

When can you can make a request for information?
1. During the investigation stage

You have the right to request information about any significant developments in the investigation. This could include:

a. Information that a suspect was arrested
b. Information that the accused was charged with a crime and the type of crimes the accused was charged with

2. At the end of the investigation stage

3. After any criminal proceedings (after the trial)

You have the right to request information before and after the trial about:
a. The place and time of the trial
b. Any final judgment of the trial

You are entitled to a copy of any statement you make during the course of the investigation, including a Victim Impact Statement.

You can also decide not to receive information.

You can decide to change your mind and receive information at any time.

However, if you are a witness in the case, you will receive some information.

What if my request for information is refused?
Sometimes, there are reasons why the police cannot give you the information you ask for.

However, this reason has to be either that:

1. The information would interfere with a criminal investigation
2. The information would make future criminal proceedings unfair or would interfere with them
3. The information might endanger someone’s safety or the safety and security of the State