During the recent General Election, I spent a lot of time of the doorsteps of Leicestershire. While it was not the main topic of conversation - that was inevitably Brexit - one of the law and order issues that did come up was that of victim support. I know that there have been problems nationwide about supporting victims of cybercrime. But this is a key part of the job of a Police and Crime Commissioner, so I thought it was worth writing a blogpost on the subject.
The latest Crime Survey of England and Wales estimates suggest 1 in 5 adults experienced crime last year. Sadly, many victims are not made aware of their rights. For example, only 14 per cent of victims recalled being given the opportunity by the police to make a Victim Personal Statement.
The first thing to say is that being a victim of crime can be life-changing. The way that people are subsequently treated within the justice system can make a huge difference in helping them to recover. That is why Conservatives are committed to ensuring victims receive the help and support they need to cope and recover.
Fortunately, the Conservatives are toughening up the justice system, but delivering justice does not just mean punishing offenders appropriately – it also means supporting victims to move on.
The Conservatives will:
* Introduce a range of measures to better support victims, including passing the Domestic Abuse Bill and a new Victims’ Law, reforming parole and increasing the victims’ surcharge.
* Act on the findings of the cross-system review of rape and commit to an immediate cash injection of £15 million next year to cut delays, speed up charging decisions, and keep more victims engaged with the process until trial.
* Reform the parole system to better serve victims, to ensure more victims are notified of parole hearings and decisions affecting them, and by opening up the parole system so victims can attend hearings for the first time.
* Boost funding for specialist victim services, by increasing the victim surcharge so that convicted offenders pay more towards victim services. This will raise more funding to support refuges and community support for victims of domestic and sexual abuse.
* Introduce a Victims’ Law, setting out the rights of victims and giving them means of redress if they are let down by the police or other agencies. Consultations are due to start in Spring 2020.
* Pass the Domestic Abuse Bill to ensure, amongst other benefits, that domestic abuse victims are treated properly at court. The government will pilot integrated domestic abuse courts that address criminal and family matters in parallel, drawing on international best practice.
* Pass what is known as "Helen’s Law", placing a legal duty on the Parole Board to consider the cruelty of killers who refuse to give the location of a victim’s remains when assessing their release.
This impressive list of improvements to come builds on the Conservative record:
* In September 2019, the Conservative Government announced £5 million more to support rape and sexual assault victims in 2020-21, funding a range of services including tailored face-to-face support and counselling.
* Victims have been given victims a greater voice in government policy making. In 2014, Conservatives established the Victims Panel, to represent victims in policy making and in 2018 we published the Victims Strategy to provide a national, cross government framework to make improvements to policy for victims.
* Victims have a bigger say in the criminal justice system. Fourteen more offences are being added to the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme so that the punishment of criminals properly reflects the severity of their crime – ultimately ensuring that victims have a voice in the system.
* The Parole Board is being strengthened to improve communication and support for victims during the parole process. In February 2019 we announced sweeping changes to the parole system to improve transparency, offer better support for victims and new powers to reconsider decisions.
