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2018 – 2019

This page tells you all about the grants and awards I have made in 2018-19 to help deliver priorities in my Police and Crime Plan.

From the 1st April 2015 Police and Crime Commissioners were made responsible for providing key emotional and practical support services for victims of crime in their locality.  Funding to support this is provided by the Ministry of Justice through an allocation based on a population formula which in Northumbria means a grant of £1,679,195m

Crime can leave victims feeling upset, scared and intimidated and it was felt by the Government that PCCs with their local knowledge are best placed to target funding where the help is most needed.

In addition to this avenue of funding PCCs can make grants as outlined in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2012 to contribute to securing crime and disorder reduction in their area.  I have set aside savings made from my own office costs to make the overall grants programme possible this year.

The main focus of the PCCs grants programme 2018-19 was to support the Police and Crime Plan objectives ‘putting victims first’, ‘dealing with ASB’ and ‘building community confidence’.

We have developed policy direction based on an assessment of need and selected the most appropriate delivery mechanism by which to satisfy need in top quality provision in a cost effective way.

Information on each of the grants and awards made as part of my 2018-19 programme can be found below:

Victims First Northumbria

£777,391 was awarded to Victims First, completely revitalising the victim referral process and services for victims of crime in Northumbria. Victims First Northumbria enables all victims of crime, direct and indirect such as parents, siblings, children and partners to cope and recover from the impact of crime.

Victims First Northumbria provides a ‘one stop shop’ for victim services.  The service provided to all victims, both who report to the police and those who do not will be offered support that generally falls into four broad categories;

  • Initial emotional and practical support including signposting
  • More detailed/longer term emotional and practical support including restorative justice
  • Support and referral to existing specialist services that can help a victim cope and recover
  • Referral to victim services commissioned by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC)

You can find out more about the Victims First service by visiting their website www.victimsfirstnorthumbria.org.uk

Strengthening Specialist Victim Services – Supporting Victims Fund

The PCCs Supporting Victims Fund was launched in 2015-16 to strengthen the overall offer of support to victims in Northumbria and improves and widens the services available to our most vulnerable and priority victims.  Priority victims are those that are entitled to an enhanced support service under the Victims Code of Practice, Victims Charter and the EU Directive for Victims of Crime.

To find out about the key themes of the fund and guidance provided to local providers please click on the following link Supporting Victims Fund 18-19 – Fund Guidance

Our assessment in 2018-19 builds on our understanding of services, projects and need in year 1 and is based upon Northumbria wide and local strategic assessments identifying levels of crime and any new and emerging crimes and issues facing our area where victim needs may arise and also local research and consultation with victims groups and service providers.

The four key priority victims groups remain the same but key areas that we are seeking to support have been updated in line with the changing needs of victims and our understanding of local service provision:

  • Domestic and sexual abuse and violence
  • Young people under 18
  • Hate crime
  • Mental health
  • Other vulnerabilities

A range of grant awards have been made as part of the PCCs Supporting Victims Fund and Commissioners Community Fund, which was an extremely detailed and competitive process.  You can view the organisations I have supported during 2018-19 by clicking on the following link 2018-19 List of Funded Groups

You can view the terms and conditions of the Supporting Victims Fund grants by clicking on the following link Terms and Conditions 2018-19

Commissioners Community Fund

Since my appointment as Police and Crime Commissioner I have also supported many local groups, voluntary groups, charities and social enterprises through my Commissioner’s Community Fund. Groups have been able to apply for funding up to a maximum of £2,000 to locally support me to tackle ASB, build community confidence or prevent crime.

You can view the groups I have supported in both the Commissioners Community Fund during 2018-19 by clicking on the following link 2018-19 List of Funded Groups

You can view the terms and conditions of the Commissioner’s Community Fund Grants by clicking on the following link Terms and Conditions

Other Grants and Awards

In addition to the above grants I have also supported several other projects that help to drive delivery of priorities as outlined in my Police and Crime Plan.

Anti-Social Behaviour Volunteer Network

In 2014-15 North Tyneside Council was financially supported to launch their ‘volunteer victim support group’ to support victims of anti-social behaviour to cope and recover following an incident or sustained attacks.  The project proved successful with a high demand for the service and 16 ASB Volunteers fully trained to support those in need.  In 2015-16 I supported all areas to introduce similar schemes to strengthen the support available for victims of ASB. To ensure that this support continues at a local level, a grant of £5,000 has been awarded to Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland Councils to carry on this work.

Monitoring and Evaluation

All grants have been provided with the agreement that output and outcome monitoring information will be provided quarterly with open surgeries to discuss performance and practical delivery to ensure the work delivered through the grant meets expectations.  The OPCC grants programme will be evaluated and a summary reported in the PCCs Annual Report 2018-19 in summer 2019.

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