If you are a victim of crime or have been in the past and require support, please take time to read the document below which includes a list of organisations I have funded and the support they can offer you.

VICTIM SERVICES

Grants and Awards 2023/24

I receive funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission support services specifically for victims of crime. I can also make grants to contribute to securing crime and disorder reduction in the area, as outlined in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2012.

A list of the grants I have made in the 2023-24 financial year can be found by accessing the following link: PCC Funded Organisations 2023-24

For a list of the grants I made in 2022-23, please click here.

My Violence Reduction Unit also makes grants. More information can be found here.

Operation Payback

Operation Payback, which sees funds seized by the force from criminals and reinvested into our communities to improve lives locally, has so far seen over £1million handed to youth groups, community projects and other initiatives.

You can view previous successful applicants here:

Current funding opportunities

Monitoring and Performance

All grants have been awarded with the agreement that output and outcome monitoring information will be provided. This can include regular grant surgeries to discuss performance and practical delivery to ensure the work delivered through the grant meets expectations.  A summary impact of my grant programmes will be reported in my Annual Report 2023-24.

The standard terms and conditions for each of my grants can be accessed here (please note this example is tailored to victims’ services).

Victims’ Services

Supporting Victims Programme

I receive funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to provide support for victims of crime and their families, which I have used to commission specialist victim support services and my core victims’ service (Northumbria Victim and Witness Service (NVWS)) through my Supporting Victims Programme.  I receive this allocation based on a population formula, which in Northumbria for the 2023-24 financial year means a grant of £1,700,495. Following sustained campaigning from my office and others, the MoJ have committed to a multi-year funding settlement which has allowed us to pass on multi-year commitments to our providers.

The Supporting Victims Programme aims to strengthen the overall offer of support to victims of crime in Northumbria, build capacity and maximise potential of the specialist services available to support victims to cope and recover. My vision is to ensure that victims of crime feel confident to seek help and when they do, they are provided with a choice of high-quality support tailored to meet their individual needs.

My key funding themes and priorities for the Supporting Victims Programme are based upon assessment of victim need and demand. This includes Northumbria-wide and local strategic assessments identifying levels of crime, new and emerging crimes, issues facing our area where victim needs may arise, and also local research and consultation with victim groups, community safety partnerships and service providers.

The key themes within the Supporting Victims Programme are:

  • Victims of domestic abuse
  • Victims of sexual violence and abuse
  • Victims of stalking and harassment
  • Young people and child victims
  • Victims of hate crime
  • Victims of violent crime (Violence Against the Person)
  • Victims with mental health needs
  • Victims with other vulnerabilities (including exploitation)

To view a full list of the services commissioned through the Supporting Victims Programme and for information on the support they provide, please see the lists at the top of this page.

Northumbria Victim and Witness Service

In 2023-24, £800,000 has been awarded to Northumbria Police to deliver the core victim service – Northumbria Victim and Witness Service (NVWS), which will completely revitalise the victim referral process and service for victims of crime in Northumbria. NVWS supports victims of crime and their families to cope and recover from the impact of crime.

The support provided to all victims, both who report to the police and those who do not falls generally into four broad categories:

  • Initial emotional and practical support including signposting
  • More detailed/longer term emotional and practical support including restorative justice and support throughout a court process
  • Support and referral to specialist services that can help a victim cope and recover

You can find out more about Northumbria Victim and Witness Service by visiting their website https://nvws.northumbria.police.uk/

Additional funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services

I have been successful in obtaining additional funding from the Ministry of Justice for the period of April 2022 to March 2025 to increase the provision of domestic abuse and sexual violence victim support services across Northumbria. This includes additional funding for Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) provision. A total of £1,369,001 will be spent in the 2023-24 financial year.

As well as the additional Ministry of Justice funding mentioned above, I have also been successful in obtaining the following:

  • Funding from the Home Office’s Supporting Children Preventing Violence (PVSC) Fund to increase the provision of support services across Northumbria for children who have experienced domestic abuse. This funded has been granted from October 2022 to March 2025.
  • Funding from NHS England’s Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (SAAS) to strengthen the provision of services for sexual violence victims in Northumbria. This funding has been granted from January 2023 to March 2024.

To view a full list of the services commissioned through the funding mentioned above and for information on the support they provide, please see the lists at the top of this page.