Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner calls on the Home Secretary to urgently agree next round of violence reduction funding.

Kim McGuinness said the Government must hand over the funds needed to push ahead with the successful Violence Reduction Units or risk reversing dramatic falls in violent crime.

The Police Commissioner said the progress seen in reducing violence in the North East – including the impact of the Covid lockdowns – could be undone if a third year of funding is not secured. 

The Government first announced Violence Reduction Units back in the summer of 2019, and Northumbria, one of 18 set up across England & Wales, has since received two lots of £1.6million to improve lives to prevent crime locally. Current funding runs out in March 2021.

Kim said: “Since launching my VRU in June last year we have worked with Northumbria Police to prevent serious violence and address the issues that cause violent behaviour. However, without suitable future funding, our work will largely be in vain.

“We’ve seen what impact can be made – a 17% reduction in knife crime, and 13% fall in total recorded crime from June 2019 to 2020 – but this type of work requires long term interventions, and funding to enable that.

“Worryingly, there was no mention of future funding in the recent Spending Review, and we are now left with decisions to make about important projects, funded workers, and interventions that need to continue, with no financial support to enable them to.”

Through the funding provided to date to the Commissioner, more than 40 local organisations have benefitted from investment with upwards of £2m being allocated to community based work.

Those benefitting from the funding include vulnerable young people at risk of exploitation and criminality, families suffering deprivation, low level adult offenders, and young people involved in the Criminal Justice System.

Also included the successful month long Knife Angel campaign. Composed of 100,000 knives, the sculpture was hosted on Gateshead quayside through February as the PCC, along with the Madgin family, aimed to educate and raise awareness about the devastation knife crime can have.

Praising the diverse nature of the work delivered, the Commissioner added: “We’ve shown in the past 18 months that our approach works – taking a localised view and supporting the communities that need it the most with life changing interventions.

“There is no ‘one model fits all’ in this type of work – this is reflected in the ranging interventions we have been able to provide. Whether that be a 1:1 mentoring service for young people on the cusp on violence, or investing in a community hub that brings together a range of support services and makes them more accessible for the local residents.”

“We have taken significant strides to improve lives to prevent crime across Northumbria, and now we need the Government to recognise this work and the long term approach it brings. Year on year funding doesn’t maximise value of public money, nor does it provide the stability that those we engage with often need.” 

The Spending Review further confirmed the already announced funding provided to police forces for officer recruitment, as well as providing Police & Crime Commissioners with the option of increasing funding through an increase in the police precept element of residents council tax.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner is calling on the Government to roll-out an innovative Northumbria pilot scheme UK-wide – to support sexual violence and abuse victims and improve their experience of seeking justice.

Just £3.9 million annually in England and Wales is all it would cost the Government to offer free and independent legal advocacy to complainants of sexual violence and abuse.

Evidence in a report, published today revealed that the pilot substantially improved best practice in police and CPS responses, and improved the overall victim experience.

This scheme, originally visioned and developed by Dame Vera Baird KC, explored the reasons as to why a sexual offence case may fail.  Dame Vera specifically discovered that disclosure and privacy issues are a huge concern to many.  This evaluation of her work with Loughborough University highlighted that these issues are not only leading complainants to lose confidence in the justice system and withdraw their report from prosecutions, but disclosure issues are also leading to many cases not being charged.

It is hoped the findings of the evaluation report, by Dr Olivia Smith, a Criminology and Social Policy expert in Loughborough University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities, will raise awareness and lead to positive changes across England and Wales.

The evaluation report considers the support provided to complainants of rape in Northumbria by independent legal advocates over an 18 month period. Advocates predominantly supported complainants to ensure their privacy rights were protected. The pilot came about due to concerns regarding over-intrusive requests for personal material from complainants on report of a sexual offence, a practice which does not occur in any other area of crime.

The report also considers the responses to an online survey of 586 victims of sexual offences in England and Wales (233 had reported to the police and 353 had not).

The victim survey data revealed that the current situation is untenable. Most victims that reported offences said they were treated sensitively by the police at the point of reporting, but the rest of the process was insensitive and unfair.

The survey found:

• 77% feel that victims are regularly cross-examined on their medical and sexual history (only 5% disagreed with this statement)
• Only 1 in 5 (21%) felt the criminal justice system treats victims with dignity
• Only 1 in 5 (21%) were satisfied with their criminal justice experience
• The survey reveals that only 12% of victims feel that police investigations are fair and proportionate.

Victims who did not report spoke about their fear of intrusive and victim-blaming practice, and those that did report confirmed in some instances this was the case.

One victim, who reported in 2017 and whose perpetrator was acquitted at trial, said: “My sexuality was used against me, naked photos of me were shown to the court, his barrister even said to the jury he had just made a ‘mistake’ and that he could be any of their sons, or brothers.”

The survey also found that getting a conviction did not necessarily mean victims were satisfied with the process. One victim stated: “The outcome was not worth what I put myself through”.

The report was commissioned by Dame Vera Baird KC whilst still in her role as Northumbria Police & Crime Commissioner, before leaving to take up the role of Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “The Government needs to do the right thing by sexual violence and abuse victims and a scheme like this would be a good start. Roll this out for just £3.9m a year, treat victims with respect and improve conviction rates. This cost is just a drop in the ocean when you factor in the savings that could be made on health and employment.

“It’s clear we need a change in how our criminal justice system responds to sexual offences. Quite simply a system that doesn’t meet the needs of a victim is a system that will allow offenders to get away with their actions and walk the streets.

“Making sure victims get the right legal help is crucial and that’s where the SVCA scheme comes in. It’s there to guide and support victims through what can be such an intimidating and daunting process, addressing concerns and stepping in to challenge requests for irrelevant personal data which can be used by defence teams to unreasonably discredit victims. Such behaviour leads to many victims losing confidence in the criminal justice process. This scheme could really shake-up the system, improving lives and preventing further crime.”

As part of the research, Dr Smith examined the pilot scheme, which ran from 2018 until March this year, and found it improved victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system.

Currently, victims in England and Wales have no right to legal support and occasionally rely on charities if they need help understanding the complicated rules around their rights.

Of the report and what she hopes it will achieve, Dr Smith said: “Around one in four women will be raped in England and Wales, but only around 17% will ever tell the police, and of those who do report, less than 2% will currently end in a conviction.

“Our research shows the huge emotional cost of reporting to police, and we need to find a way to change this. The changes that are needed are wide-reaching and must tackle, for example, racism and homophobia in the criminal justice system.

“One of the many changes should be the provision of legal advocacy, as it’s shown to work, and England and Wales are in danger of falling behind the rest of the world in how we treat sexual violence and abuse victims.

“This is about more than conviction rates. It is about dignified treatment regardless of outcome.”

The full report can be found here. It will be shared with the Criminal Justice Board and key MPs and Peers.

To find out more about the research recommendations please visit needisclear.org. It features resources for anyone who wants to take action and video content needisclear.org/survivors

Full report here: SVCA Evaluation – Final Report

Changing Lives has been awarded £45,295 in extra funding to help protect the growing number of people who are experiencing sexual exploitation and violence in the North East.

The money is being distributed by the country’s police and crime commissioners and in Northumbria, the Gateshead-based national charity has received £25,250 from Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness.

This funding, which is to help victims through the Covid-19 pandemic, is being used to support the work of the Girls Are Proud (GAP) and Male Action Project (MAP) projects which provide pro-active outreach and in-reach work with victims, offering both emotional and practical support.

The Durham Police and Crime Commissioner has also awarded £25,045 to the charity to help victims who have been referred to the charity by police, the probation service, social services, and other charities.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “I know just how tough it’s been. For far too many victims, lockdown has made them all the more vulnerable – the abuse, the suffering, they’ve been put through hell. And the organisations desperate to help them have faced huge struggles too.

“Right from the start of this pandemic I was calling for this funding and, when we got it, I was so pleased to be able to help towards keeping things up and running at Changing Lives. It’s an incredible organisation that we need now more than ever to step in, to take care of, and to rescue those in need.”

Steve White, Acting Police Crime & Victims’ Commissioner for Durham said: “Despite these challenging times, support organisations have adapted to deliver services during Covid-19 and we are delighted that we are able to assist by providing funding to Changing Lives to provide support to women who are victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse”.

The money is part of the Ministry of Justice’s £76m package of additional funding to help vulnerable victims through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite the additional funding, Changing Lives has an unprecedented waiting list for its support services in the Northumbria police force area. The charity has launched an emergency Covid-19 funding appeal which people can support online or by texting CORONA10 to 70450 to donate £10 to the appeal.