Avoid contact with the offender

If the accused person, or someone representing them, tries to contact you, call the police officer in charge of your case.

If a person is on bail for a crime and doesn’t follow conditions like not contacting victims and witnesses, they can be sent to jail.

You can apply for an intervention order to protect yourself from harmful behaviour.

Even if you know the person who committed the crime, it is important to avoid contact with them.

The accused person might try to contact you to:

It does not matter why they are trying to contact you, you should still try to avoid it.

Other people may try to contact you for the accused person such as:

You should avoid this contact as well.

What should I do?

If anyone is in immediate danger or a crime is currently occurring, call the police on Triple Zero (000).

Contact the police officer in charge of your case if:

If you are affected by family violence, the police can help to protect you. They can:

remove a person if they are at your home and committing a crime, or not following the conditions of an intervention order
refer you to a support service
refer you to emergency accommodation if it is not safe to stay in your home and you want to go
help you leave safely
stay with you until you and your family members are no longer at risk of harm.

If you are not sure about how to contact the police officer in charge of your case (sometimes called the police investigator) you can:

Check the Notice to Victim form if you have it. This form may be given to victims of crime when they report the crime or give police a statement.

Call the police station the police officer in charge of your case works from, if you know that. You can find the phone numbers on the Victoria police website.

Call the Victims of Crime Helpline on 1800 819 817 if you need advice or are not sure how to get in contact with the police.

Updated 22 November 2023