Invitation to help improve victim services

Mary Youlden
Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted Friday, April 18, 2014 - 4:18pm

Organisations that want to be involved in the commissioning of services to victims after April 2015 are being given the opportunity to join in the improvement of victim services.

From April responsibility for the commissioning of most victim services across the peninsula will fall to Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Hogg who is asking groups to register their interest in providing victim services in the future.

In his recently published revised Police and Crime Plan Mr Hogg made a clear commitment to ensuring that all victims get effective support to deal with the effects of crime.

The national Victims Code, published in 2013, recognised the need to strengthen and enhance services for the victims of crime and placed a duty upon all agencies within the criminal justice system to provide services that deliver victims’ entitlements.

An important part of the service will see Mr Hogg’s office develop an online directory of organisations that support victims of crime.

The online directory will let victims indentify organisations they feel can help them best.

It will act as a resource for staff and volunteers in the victim care unit to refer victims (with consent) to the best organisations, provide a ‘public face’ for a network of organisations that provide victim services, and provide clear information on the services that organisations can offer including which offer restorative justice interventions and support with victim personal statements.

Expressions of interest are now invited from organisations that want to be part of the directory and to be considered they must register on the e-procurement site www.Bluelight.gov.uk. Expressions of interest must be lodged by 6 May.

“The shift to locally commissioned support services for victims offers us an opportunity to ensure that we get the right solutions in place to meet local needs,” said Mr Hogg.

“We have consulted widely with victims and service providers prior to publishing a Victims Needs Assessment, which is available on the OPCC website.

“This has identified the wide number of existing groups and organisations who currently support the diverse needs of local victims, often without formal recognition and in addition to their core functions.

“The assessment confirmed how important it is that we communicate clearly to victims the support that is available to them and the importance of providing help and support for victims with diverse and complex needs.”

Sarah Carlsen-Browne, the OPCC criminal justice commissioning adviser, said this is a considerable shift in how victims services will be delivered.

“Our commissioning of victim services for Devon and Cornwall is a strategic move to more personal, localised services,” she said.

“A key principle of our commissioning is to focus on the individual needs of the victim and how best they can be supported to cope and recover from the effects of crime. It is important to note that under the new code this applies if they have reported the crime to the police or if they have chosen not to.

“We know from the needs assessment that there are many groups, many who do not receive funding, currently providing services to victims so what we want to do is make sure we support all those organisations.

“Victims Support will continue to be an important part of the future network and will no doubt be a major provider that many victims will still choose to engage with in the future.

“One of the key things is to provide a single point of contact where people can get information in one place. That doesn’t mean we won’t have different methods for victims to make contact but central to this will be an online directory that will be functional and clear and contain lots of information.

“People will be able to easily find the organisations they want to engage with and then support staff will be able to help make the appropriate referrals to those organisations.

“It will be key for people in Devon and Cornwall who need help to cope and recover when they become victims of crime.”

Full information about the directory can be found on the OPCC website.

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