Agenda item

To scrutinise the commissioning of services for victims.

·         The Senior Policy Officer provided a brief overview of the OPCC’s new role in commissioning Victims’ Services and the plans in place to assume this new responsibility. It was highlighted that Surrey’s bid for additional funding made available by central government to commission victims’ services attracted £450k of funding from a pot of £12 million made available for PCCs. The funding is earmarked for a variety of services for victims of crime ranging from specialist services for victims of sexual offences or domestic abuse as well as more general services for victims of crimes such as burglary and will lead to a significant reduction in the time that victims of crimes such as rape or sexual assault will have to wait for specialist services. Decisions will be made on contracts for providing these services and details of these contracts will be made available to the Panel at the next meeting.

·         The Senior Policy Officer advised that running a contact service for victims in Surrey alone would not be sustainable and so they had agreed with Sussex and Thames Valley Police Forces to collaborate on creating one contact centre covering the three Force areas. The contract for providing this centre is currently out for tender and they are on schedule to award this contract by the end of October. It was noted that this collaboration would be beneficial for all three Forces as well as for victims who would receive a better service from a combined contact centre and had led to the creation of a framework agreement that was open for all PCCs.

·       The Panel asked whether the £450k of additional funding provided by the government was a single payment or whether there were indications that this additional funding would be provided annually to cover the costs of this additional responsibility. The Senior Policy Officer advised that this was understood to be a one-off payment and that funding was not guaranteed for the future. As a result the OPCC had sought to commission services which were sustainable where possible although an indication was given that some services might have to be ended if Central Government didn’t continue this funding.

·       The Members requested more information on the provision of services to victims of domestic abuse in Surrey, specifically, how the OPCC is working with specialist organisations who already deliver a great service to victims of domestic abuse such as yoursanctuary which was not listed as a partner organisation in the report provided.The Senior Policy Officer advised that the OPCC was working with a number of providers of domestic abuse services including yourSanctuary and that funding is being made to existing providers of services to domestic abuse victims through a block grant arrangement to rather than the usual contract tender process to ensure the provision of services which already exists in Surrey isn’t undermined  The Senior Policy Officer stated that a full breakdown of the beneficiaries of the victims’ services funds would be made available to the Panel once these had been finalised.

·       The Panel felt that 6-8 weeks was still quite a long time to wait for victims to receive support services and stated that they felt support was needed much sooner and preferably as soon as the crime had happened. The PCC stated that the 6-8 week timeframe was specifically in reference to the specialist services for victims of sexual offences which are less ready available than more general support services. It was further highlighted that victims of sexual offences receive a chaperone officer with specialist training in supporting victims of crimes of this nature and who will continue to provide support and advice handing them over to a specialist counsellor so there would be no gap in the support available to the victim.

·       Members also wanted to know more about the services available for victims of anti-social behaviour especially those who are older or more vulnerable and can often live close to the perpetrator. The PCC advised that when crimes are reported Victims’ Support Services are informed and will contact the victim within hours of the complaint being made. Following this, a discussion will take place and involving the victim to determine what services they require. In some cases a volunteer caseworker will be assigned to the victim to ensure that they have full access to the services and support required.

·       The Panel also requested more information on how many cases of domestic abuse are reported to Surrey Police and how this impacts on caseloads. The PCC suggested that probably just 10% of domestic abuses incidents are actually reported to Surrey Police. Despite this, domestic abuse cases accounted had a significant impact on Police caseloads as complaints are often retracted before the case goes to court. The OPCC is taking steps to better understand why victims of domestic violence don’t come forward particularly in some ethnic minority communities where offences such as domestic abuse and marital rape are more common. It was advised that, as a result of these efforts, more victims were stating that they felt well supported by Surrey Police, something that was being seen in real terms with more victims taking their cases through to trial.

RESOLVED: That;

            1. The report be noted.

2. The OPCC share the results of the bidding process for specialist services, including a breakdown of services and partners, with the Panel.