BBC News - Hidden costs to crime victims
"Victims of violent crime can find themselves tens of thousands of pounds out-of-pocket, according to research completed for the first commissioner for victims and witnesses for England and Wales.
Louise Casey has spent her first year in post listening to the views of people who have experienced serious violent crime - as victims, witnesses or families bereaved through murder and manslaughter.
There have been improvements in the last decade and more to the way victims and witnesses are treated. There is a criminal justice system Code of Practice which sets out rules for dealing with the victims of crime.
Families can now provide impact statements to the courts so that judges can take them into account when sentencing.
The UK offers the most generous criminal injuries compensation in Europe - paid on a sliding scale, usually up to £11,000 - and, in addition, it has Victim Support, the largest charity of its kind in the world.
Only two months into the job, Louise Casey described the Victims' Code of Practice as "a maybe code which confers no real rights" which crucially, in her view, offers no effective route for complaint."
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