Police and Crime Commissioners to determine local victims' services
Offenders to pay up to £50 million each year to help victims, the majority of which will be made available to PCCs to spend on services.
Offenders will be forced to pay up to £50 million each year to help victims, the majority of which will be made available to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to spend on services in their area.
This is on top of a share for PCCs of the £66 million each year central Government already dedicates to services supporting victims and witnesses.
Under plans set out today by the Ministry of Justice, democratically-elected PCCs will act as commissioners for a range of victims’ services in their local area.
They will commission emotional and practical support services which help individuals cope with, and recover from, the consequences of crime, ensuring that services meet local need, represent value for money and deliver real outcomes for victims.
Police and Crime Commissioners
Nick Herbert Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice said:’The arrival of Police and Crime Commissioners will be the most significant democratic reform of policing in our lifetime.
‘How victims are treated is essential to maintaining public trust in policing and the criminal justice system.
‘That is why the government has decided that funding for a range of services will be devolved to democratically elected and accountable Police and Crime Commissioners.
‘The needs of victims vary locally and PCCs, much more than central government, will be best placed to decide what their communities want.’
PCCs will also be required to consult with victims in setting the policing priorities in their local area. This will ensure that, for the first time, victims of crime have a clear role in determining what the police should focus on and how.
On 15 November 2012 the public will take to the polls to elect 41 Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales.