Further investment in victims’ support services for children and adults announced

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is continuing its commitment to invest in victims’ services after awarding two charities contracts to provide dedicated support to adult and child victims of crime.

The funding from the OPCC will enable independent charity Victim Support to provide free, confidential, and tailored support to adult victims of crime, with youth service Splash also being commissioned to provide support services for child victims - regardless of whether the crime has been reported to the police.

Victim Support will provide adults with specialist help to cope and recover in the aftermath of a crime, develop coping strategies, and build resilience to move beyond what has happened. This involves personal contact with a specially trained professional, who will carry out a needs assessment and develop a tailored support plan.

The support will be trauma informed will focus on emotional and practical support, wellbeing, providing advocacy help, and ensuring victims feel better informed around ways in which they can feel safer following the incident. Support navigating the criminal justice system will also be offered to victims wishing to report a crime to the police.

Splash, part of Wiltshire-based charity Community First will use the funding to enable youth workers to support young victims of crime by creating a wellbeing plan and providing individual and group support to build resilience moving forward.

The wide range of group-based peer support and personal developmental activities will focus on enhancing self-esteem and confidence, promoting wellbeing, and increasing support networks knowledge and skills.

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “Supporting victims - whether adults or children - in the time when they are most vulnerable and need help is a core priority for my office and is contained within my police and crime plan.

“We know we cannot eradicate crime completely so we must ensure the services we are funding are delivering for victims when they need it most, regardless of whether they’ve chosen to report a crime to the police.

“I look forward to working closely with Victim Support and Splash to ensure we are delivering effective and efficient services for adult and child victims of crime.”

Suzanne Bocoum, Victim Support Area Manager for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire said: “We are thrilled to be delivering this much needed service for victims of crime in Wiltshire.

“Last year we supported over 1200 victims – our services are here for all victims of all crimes and people do not need to have reported to the police to access them.

“We look forward to building on this, working closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner and the local community to understand the needs to victims and deliver a service which works for them.” 

Lynn Gibson, Splash Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to be able to continue this important work with the PCC and other partners.

“We know that this work, and the partnership formed, is essential in reducing the impact of crime for the young people who have sadly been victims of it.”

To find out more about commissioned support services, please visit our online Victims and Witnesses Hub.

Published Friday 22 March 2024