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2020 – 2021

Have you been a victim of crime?

From the 1st April 2015 as Police and Crime Commissioner I became responsible for providing key emotional and practical support services for victims of crime in Northumbria. 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 it is most needed in their local communities.

Funding is provided on an annual basis by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to me to support work with victims of crime and their families which I have used to commission services through my Supporting Victims Fund. I receive this allocation based on a population formula, which in Northumbria for the 2020-21 year means a grant of £1,702,736.

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.

Please note, if you are a victim of crime during the Coronavirus Pandemic, our services continue to offer support but may have had to adapt their ways of working at this time.

VICTIMS SERVICES 2020-21

Grants and Awards 2020/21

In addition to the MoJ funding where the allocation is specifically for victims of crime, I can also make grants as outlined in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2012 to contribute to securing crime and disorder reduction in the area.

A full list of every grant I have made in 2020-21 can be found by accessing the following links.

2020-21 PCC List of Funded Groups – ALL FUNDS

Victims First Northumbria

In 2020-21 £800,000 has been awarded to the charity Victims First, which has completely revitalised the victim referral process and service for victims of crime in Northumbria. Victims First enable victims of crime and their family 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 through-out a court process
  • Support and referral to specialist services that can help a victim cope and recover

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


Supporting Victims Fund 2020-21

The PCCs Supporting Victims Fund was first launched in 2015 to strengthen the overall offer of support to victims in Northumbria and improves and widens the specialist 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.

My assessment for the 2020-21 year builds on our understanding of services, demand and need since 2015 and is based upon 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 victims groups, community safety partnerships and service providers.

The key themes within the Supporting Victims Fund this year are:

  • Domestic abuse
  • Sexual assault and abuse
  • Young people and child victims
  • Victims of hate crime
  • Victims with mental health needs
  • Victims with other vulnerabilities

A range of grant awards have been made as part of the PCCs Supporting Victims Fund, which was an extremely competitive process and the list of supported groups and organisations is included within the list of funded groups at the top of this page.

You can view the terms and conditions and fund guidance document of the Supporting Victims Fund grants by clicking on the following links

Fund Guidance

Terms and Conditions 2020-21


Monitoring and evaluation

All grants have been awarded with the agreement that output and outcome monitoring information will be provided either quarterly or every six months with regular grant surgeries to discuss performance and practical delivery to ensure the work delivered through the grant meets expectations. A summary impact of the OPCC grants programme will be reported in my Annual Report 2020-21.

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 all areas were supported 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 each been awarded to Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland Council. Northumberland County Council were unfortunately not able to facilitate the network.