Witness Care Solution: Q&A

We recently demoed the Witness Care Solution to police leaders from across the UK in a live webinar delivered in partnership with Salesforce and Humberside Police. Attendees saw the solution in action, heard firsthand from Humberside’s team and shared common challenges faced across forces. The session sparked a wide range of practical questions from integration and workflows to plans with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Platform & Case Management

Is the Witness Care Solution a replacement for the existing Witness Management System (WMS) or the force’s case management system?

The Witness Care Solution is built on the Salesforce platform and enables Witness Care Units to manage cases end-to-end. It is not a replacement for the core Police RMS, but it provides a full case management capability specifically designed to improve the workflow of Witness Care teams.

How do Team Leaders assign and manage cases in the Witness Care Solution?

In the Salesforce-based Witness Care Solution, Team Leaders can assign cases directly from a screen that displays all incoming cases. A dedicated dashboard provides Team Leaders with real-time visibility into team workload. Case records are automatically created through integration with the force's Record Management System (such as Niche).

Can the Witness Care Solution be implemented without the Victim Engagement Solution?

Yes, the Witness Care Solution can be implemented as a standalone system. While the MyPolice Portal is a natural extension of the Victim Journey platform, the case management component can operate independently to improve the efficiency of Witness Care teams.

Can Witness Care Officers (WCOs) access other officers’ tasks or pick up additional casework easily?

Yes. Each WCO has a personal dashboard that provides visibility into their assigned workload. Tasks can be reassigned to colleagues as needed, and case histories are fully accessible for continuity.

Can the Witness Care Solution support a priority-based model instead of assigning cases to specific officers?

Yes. The system can be configured to support a priority-based working model. Task allocation rules can be automated to reflect specific operational requirements, including unassigned case queues managed by priority.

Integration & compatibility

Does the Witness Care Solution integrate with the Niche RMS?

Yes. The Witness Care Solution integrates with Niche using the MuleSoft System Integration platform. This integration allows for automatic case creation and tasking, including functions such as MG02 generation and court summons.

What about integration with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)?

Integration with CPS is not yet in place. However, Humberside Police is actively leading discussions at regional and national levels to explore future integration. The long-term goal is to fully automate data sharing between Salesforce and CPS systems.

Can the Witness Care Solution fully replace WMS?

The Witness Care Solution replicates all key tasking functions currently handled in WMS. However, until CPS integration is fully established, some manual interaction with WMS may still be required in some forces.

Where do court details come from if not fed directly into Niche?

Court details can be passed into the Witness Care Solution from Niche, where possible. They can also be stored manually or as predefined fields within Salesforce, depending on force requirements.

Has any update been passed back into Niche from the Witness Care Solution?

No. At this stage, there is no automated feedback into Niche for court outcomes or related data. The current integration covers case creation and officer tasking.

Communication & user engagement

Can email or message templates be customised for individual forces?

Yes. All communication templates are fully configurable. Each force can tailor the language and format to match its tone, policies, and operational processes.

Does the Witness Care Solution support automated reminders for court attendance?

Yes. The system can send reminders via SMS or email. This function has already proven successful in the Victim Engagement Solution, and similar proactive communication is available for witness care.

Can police officers outside the Witness Care Unit view contact history with victims or witnesses?

No. Operational staff working outside the Witness Care Unit, such as Officers in Charge (OICs), do not access Salesforce directly. They remain within the RMS. Information flows are managed through tasking and integration points.

Is there visibility of WCO availability for leave or absence management?

Yes. Team calendars can be used to track WCO availability, and tasks can be reassigned accordingly. All changes are recorded within the case history.

Can the system confirm whether a witness has received or acknowledged their court warning?

Functionality to track and confirm message delivery can be configured. Acknowledgement tracking may be added depending on each force’s preferences and notification methods.

Does the Witness Care Solution support communication with Citizens Advice Witness Services?

This is being considered. The Salesforce platform can be configured to support referral workflows as needed.

Reporting & performance

Can the system report on VCOP compliance, attendance, and other KPIs?

Yes. The Salesforce platform provides robust reporting capabilities. Forces currently using the platform actively track business outcomes, including VCOP compliance, attendance rates, and performance against defined KPIs.

Can the platform report on metrics such as Victim Personal Statements (VPS) completion rates or eligible victim ratios?

Yes. Reporting can be built on any data held in the system. If additional data is required, the Salesforce data model can be extended to capture it.

Was performance data collected before the solution was introduced, to help measure its impact afterwards?

Yes. Before the Witness Care Solution went live, Humberside Police captured baseline performance metrics. These KPIs are now being reviewed as the force reaches the six‑month mark, allowing them to compare performance before and after implementation and understand the impact of the new digital approach.

Has the introduction of the Witness Care Solution reduced witness or victim attrition?

It is still early to assess the long-term impact on attrition. Forces will be reviewing this as part of their continuous improvement.

Has feedback been gathered from witnesses or victims?

Not yet, but the system includes the capability to issue surveys and collect structured feedback at any stage.

Future capabilities

Can the platform support communication with defendants?

Not currently, but discussions are underway with multiple forces regarding a future Offender Journey solution to support communication with defendants.

Can the system detect gaps in communication or periods with no contact?

Not automatically yet, but proactive messaging strategies can be introduced to address these gaps. Future enhancements may include prompts to re-engage witnesses over time.

Can the system assign unique identifiers to witnesses across multiple cases?

Yes. Each case has a unique reference number, and where the same person appears in multiple cases, these links can be recognised via integration with the RMS.

Does the system's signposting support services for victims and witnesses?

Yes. Communication templates can include links to relevant support services, tailored by crime type or force-specific guidance.