A Victims Care Service Co-ordinator who will serve Gwent has been announced by Police and Crime Commissioner Ian Johnston.
Helen Whewell from Abersychan near Pontypool is the new coordinator for Connect Gwent, a victims’ care service which is currently under development to give better support to victims of crime.
Connect Gwent, which will be based at Blackwood Police Station, will bring together a range of agencies and organisations, with the aim to allow Gwent Police to work more effectively and efficiently with victims of crime.
The project is funded through the Ministry of Justice Victims Services grant.
Ian Johnston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent, said: “We were looking for a confident and charismatic individual with experience of working within the criminal justice system to lead on the development and delivery of this service.
“I am delighted to say that we have found that person in Helen and I would like to congratulate her on securing this leading role in the development of this new service.
“Connect Gwent is all about putting the victim first and improving the way services are delivered to them which is at the heart of everything we do.
“It’s vital that we improve victim satisfaction and the quality of victim contact.
“From the police officers on the frontline, to the staff and external stakeholders who will work from the hub, we all have an important responsibility and a vested interest in ensuring this service provides enhanced support which will enable us to provide a better outcome for victims of crime.”
Ms Whewell said: “It’s not often you get a chance to set something up specifically to meet people’s needs and I thought this was a fantastic opportunity to make a real positive difference to the lives of victims of crime in Gwent.
“With my background in social services, I value the importance of meeting people’s individual needs and in improving their lives for the future.
“This innovative new service will be a first for Wales and will provide the best support available for victims of crime here in Gwent.
“Knowing who to turn to and where to go is a huge help for victims of crime and we hope to satisfy a need which has been there for a long time.”
This person really will have to be remarkably perceptive and engaging individual. Particularly if they are to build support for victims of hate crimes, they will, of course, also have to be able to demonstrate a lack of any sort of prejudice in the way they project this new public service role..
I also wonder if they will intervene as the `Victims Care Service Co-ordinator` BEFORE any prosecutions or even charges are brought against perpetrators, and, in support of those in the community, who suffer hate crimes, the disabled, race crimes, sexual orientation crime victims, etc.
A hate crime occurs when a person is targeted because of hostility or prejudice towards them, including targeted at a persons property as well as the person themselves
Being a victim of this kind of crime can be a particularly
frightening experience as they are victimised because of who they
are, or who or what the attacker(s) thinks they are.
Hate incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them and it would be good to know that the new coordinators duty would be to intervene even before the police decide to prosecute an incident or not? As this role will be led by our elected Crime Commissioner,and not the Gwent Police it does seem to preserve an element of `independence`, the sucess of the role can be judged in time.
Connect Gwent should be making sure that Gwent Police take a victim statement from everybody that has been a victim of any crime and should a case go to court that statement should be read out as part of any evidence, and no judgement should be passed until the court has heard the victim statement, the victims should have a voice in court and any judge should take into consideration the effect a crime against them has had on their life, at present the system appears to favour the criminal and not the victim.
This person really will have to be remarkably perceptive and engaging individual. Particularly if they are to build support for victims of hate crimes, they will, of course, also have to be able to demonstrate a lack of any sort of prejudice in the way they project this new public service role..
I also wonder if they will intervene as the `Victims Care Service Co-ordinator` BEFORE any prosecutions or even charges are brought against perpetrators, and, in support of those in the community, who suffer hate crimes, the disabled, race crimes, sexual orientation crime victims, etc.
A hate crime occurs when a person is targeted because of hostility or prejudice towards them, including targeted at a persons property as well as the person themselves
Being a victim of this kind of crime can be a particularly
frightening experience as they are victimised because of who they
are, or who or what the attacker(s) thinks they are.
Hate incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them and it would be good to know that the new coordinators duty would be to intervene even before the police decide to prosecute an incident or not? As this role will be led by our elected Crime Commissioner,and not the Gwent Police it does seem to preserve an element of `independence`, the sucess of the role can be judged in time.
Connect Gwent should be making sure that Gwent Police take a victim statement from everybody that has been a victim of any crime and should a case go to court that statement should be read out as part of any evidence, and no judgement should be passed until the court has heard the victim statement, the victims should have a voice in court and any judge should take into consideration the effect a crime against them has had on their life, at present the system appears to favour the criminal and not the victim.