PCC placing victims at the heart of policing
23rd March 2021
A total of £8.4m of funding is being invested by the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Office of PCC during 2021/22 into delivering services that will reduce crime and help victims recover from the harm they have suffered.
It comprises of three key strands, with £5.4m earmarked for the PCC Community Safety Fund (CSF), £2.8m for victims and witnesses from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and £180k for the Partnership Executive Group (PEG) fund.
Collectively, it covers a range of support and interventions on themes such as tackling sexual violence and domestic abuse, to restorative justice processes and witness care.
West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Mark Burns-Williamson OBE said:
“To achieve the priorities and outcomes in my recently refreshed Police and Crime Plan, I have commissioned a number of different providers to help with the delivery of services, which benefit the communities across West Yorkshire.
“Supporting victims is at the very heart of this work and we have been able to identify the services, programmes and partnerships that are most effective in delivering this locally.
“To date during the last 12 months, my office has already helped coordinate and distribute over £1.4 million in emergency funding to organisations across West Yorkshire to ensure sustainability amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Of this figure, just under £1m has been directly distributed to services supporting victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
“I know that the period of the pandemic has had a significant impact upon providers and many have reported that without this crucial funding, their core services could not have been delivered and would have been at risk of closure.
“To be able to apportion a further £8.4m into victim orientated services for 2021/22 means we can continue in our concerted partnership efforts to bring about fewer victims and provide enhanced support.
“I am extremely committed about giving victims and survivors of crime the necessary assistance and I have contributed to the national debate to help influence change.
“For instance, I have recently responded to the consultation proposals on the Government’s Victim’s Law and also the Domestic Abuse Bill which will be key in shaping things to come.
“By helping to shape the national agenda and providing the right level of finances on a very local level, I believe we can lead from the front in West Yorkshire, ‘keeping people safe and feeling safe’, which has been our joint vision since becoming PCC in 2012.”