Criminals paying more than ever to help victims
8 Apr 2014 10:24 AM
£14 million of new
funding taken directly from criminals’ pockets will provide vital
services to help victims recover from the effects of crime, Justice Secretary
Chris Grayling yesterday announced.
Mr Grayling and Victims’
Minister Damian Green are also setting up a Victims’ Panel so that those
who have been affected by crime can tell ministers directly how the criminal
justice system could better serve people in their position. TV presenter
Charlie Webster, who has recently spoken out about the sexual abuse she
suffered as a teenager, and Barry Mizen, whose son Jimmy was brutally murdered
in 2008, will be part of that panel.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling
said:
We’ve got to make sure we
give victims the best support possible. This Government is doing more than ever
to make offenders pay for their crimes and fund the services victims need to
recover. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do more.
We receive invaluable help and
advice from people who work with victims every day, including the
Victims’ Commissioner. But I want to hear first-hand from those who have
suffered personally about what we can do better to help them come to terms with
and recover from the traumatic effects of crime.
Barry Mizen
said:
I am pleased to invite to join
this group, and to be able to bring the experience and knowledge I have
acquired since the murder of my son in 2008.
It will be my intention, as part
of this group, to help Ministers make objective and informed
decisions.
I thank them for being prepared
to listen and respond positively to the people most able to comment, and will
do my best to speak for all victims of crime and their
families.
Charlie Webster
said:
I have campaigned against
domestic violence and all form of abuse and have met too many people who have
had their lives affected by mental, physical and sexual abuse. These victims
often feel they don’t have a voice, or the support they need. The effects
of abuse has a massive knock on effect to self esteem and sadly, is a
contributing factor to alcohol and substance abuse, homelessness and
crime.
I’ve openly spoken about
the sexual assault I experienced as a teenager, which is why I had no
hesitation in joining the victim support panel set up by the Justice
Department. If perhaps I had felt that I had a voice during that time, it may
have made my experience easier to recover from.
16 years on, I feel I have
recovered, but I am determined to help stamp out all forms of abuse. A massive
part of ending abuse, is talking about it, bringing the subject into the open
and supporting those affected by it. Unfortunately, until abuse is stamped out,
there will always be victims, of all ages, gender and race and I am proud that
I will be helping to give a voice to these people, by speaking to decision
makers and policy leaders.
Under this Government more money
than ever before is being raised from offenders specifically to help victims of
crime. An increase in the penalties judges can impose on criminals from 2012 is
ensuring criminals are forced to pay the price for their wrongdoing. This will
contribute to the department’s aim to double the funding available to
help victims’ services, which currently stands at £50million from
the Ministry of Justice.
This is on top of range measures
introduced since 2010 to ensure victims receive more support and improve their
experience of the CJS. Last year the revamped Victims’ Code was issued to
ensure people receive more support than ever before when reporting a crime
– knowing what will happen from the moment they report a crime to the end
of a trial and beyond, as well as who to demand that help from if it is not
been offered up.
We are also piloting pre-trial
cross-examination to help young and vulnerable witnesses give evidence without
going through what can be an aggressive and intimidating court experience. This
is being tested in three Crown Courts and will be rolled out more widely if
successful.
Notes to
editors
-
The Victims’ Panel will
include Barry Mizen, Charlie Webster, Thelma Stober, Julian Hendy, Jean Taylor
and Debra Clothier.
-
£12 million is being made
available to Police and Crime Commissioners on top of their 2014/15 budgets to
commission local victims’ services. This will be open from Monday 7 April
2014 and PCCs will be able to bid for up to the equivalent of their 2014/15
budgets, which stand at a total of £31.55 million.
-
The funding will support
priority categories of victims of crime, as defined in the Victims’ Code.
This includes victims of domestic and sexual violence, persistently targeted
victims, or victims who are vulnerable or intimidated.
-
An extra £2 million is
also being made available to support victims most in need.
-
The Victim Surcharge is a
penalty a judge can apply when sentencing an offender. Until October 2012 the
Surcharge could only be applied to fines and at a flat rate of £15. From
1 October 2012 this was extended so that the penalty payable was increased and
also extended to include a wider range of punishments (including community and
custodial sentences ), with the amount payable dependent on the seriousness of
the sentence.
-
As well as this Penalty Notices
for Disorder were increased from 1 July 2013 with the additional revenue also
used to fund victims’ services.