Victim Care & Mentor Service

The Victim Care & Mentor Service provides free and confidential support to people across County Durham and Darlington who have been affected by crime or anti-social behaviour.

Dove Design was commissioned to create a new website that would make the service easier to understand and, most importantly, make it easier for people to find the right support when they need it.

The website needed to work for a wide range of users, including victims of crime, their families, professionals and partner organisations. Because of the sensitive nature of the service, the website needed to communicate information clearly while creating a calm, approachable and reassuring experience.

The new website brings the service’s support options, referral process, victim rights, court information and downloadable resources together within one accessible online platform.

Dove Design designed and developed a completely new website in Webflow, focusing on clarity, accessibility and ease of navigation.

A key part of the project was structuring a large amount of information into a website that doesn’t feel overwhelming.

The website provides clear routes into the main areas of support, including:

• Support for victims
• Help with reporting a crime
• Support in court
• Restorative Justice
• Stalking support
• Anti-social behaviour
• Mediation

The website also provides dedicated information about the team and the different specialist roles available within the service.  

A clearer referral process

One of the most important elements of the new website is the referral system.

The website allows users to choose between self-referral and professional referral, with structured forms collecting the information required by the service.

The forms capture relevant personal, contact and incident information, while allowing users to specify the type of support they are looking for.  

This provides a much clearer route into the service and reduces the friction involved in making a referral.

Making important information easier to find

The website also provides dedicated resources for victims, including information about their rights under the Victims’ Code.

The Your Rights as a Victim section presents the 12 key rights in a clear, structured format, helping users understand what they are entitled to throughout the criminal justice process.  

The website also includes information about attending court, explaining the difference between Magistrates’ and Crown Courts, who people may encounter at court and what support is available.  

Resource library

A dedicated resources section provides downloadable information for users, including:

• Court information packs
• Crime-specific victim care leaflets
• Restorative Justice resources
• Posters
• Victim Personal Statement resources

These resources are organised into clear categories, making it easier for users to find the information relevant to them.

The new Victim Care & Mentor Service website provides a clearer, more accessible and more user-focused digital experience for victims of crime and the professionals who support them.

The new structure makes it easier for visitors to quickly understand:

Who the service is for → What support is available → What their rights are → How they can access support.

The referral process provides a direct route into the service, while dedicated resources, court information and FAQs give users access to important information without needing to contact the team for every question.

The website is fully responsive, ensuring that the information and referral services are accessible across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

Most importantly, the website provides a central online resource for a service supporting people at what can be an extremely difficult time.