Victim Support - A United Kingdom innovation

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3 October 2000

The Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Toby Harris, speaking at the Victim Support Volunteers Conference said the United Kingdom could be justifiably proud of having introduced the idea of Victim Support, an the idea of which had now been copied variously by many countries all over the world. As a member of the European Forum for Victim Services, the organisation supports the social rights of the victims of crime and victims’ rights to standards of service.

The Chair highlighted the fact that although it was Government funded, the organisation, as an independent registered charity, its great strength was regarded as being on the side of victims and not part of the police, legal system or the government.

The Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Toby Harris said:

“We in the Metropolitan Police Authority intend, both in our individual capacities and, perhaps more importantly, in our role as an Authority, to focus much of our attention on supporting local community safety partnerships. We will support those organisations, like yourselves, who have the task of picking up the pieces after crimes have been committed.

“An immediate priority is getting the police up to strength. A substantial shortfall is anticipated and there are fears that the Police Service will be below the strength required to police London effectively by the end of this year. Considerable measures are now being taken to improve recruitment procedures. We must end the scandal of police officers that cannot afford to buy or rent homes near where they work.

“Tackling crime has got to be seen as a partnership - a partnership between the police and the public and between the police and other agencies, such as local councils, Neighbourhood Watch, PCCGs and Victim Support. MPA to be an active ‘co-operative’ member of local partnerships and over the coming months we will be working with all stakeholder organisations as to how this might best be achieved.

“The MPA considers consultation with the public as one of its top priorities and is considering the best means of obtaining the views of Londoners on the priorities for their areas. It is envisaged that the review will produce a draft consultation strategy in October.”

Toby Harris called on victims to come forward and report their experiences, particularly racial crimes and violence against the elderly and disabled where significant improvements in police responsiveness is now encouraging more and more people to seek redress. He said that preventing and tackling crime is the responsibility of everyone but progress would not be achieved simply by relying on the Police, to do all the work. What is needed, he said, is for all the stakeholders against crime to come together on a regular basis to monitor trends in crime and to assemble joint approaches to new developments.

The Chair praised the volunteers for not just providing a shoulder to cry on but real support and information to help the victims of crime deal with their experiences through their darkest hours and ensuring their rights are acknowledged and advanced in all aspects of criminal justice and social policy. He emphasised that all society owed the volunteers a great debt of gratitude for their courage, their patience and their generous gift of their own free time to help others.

Notes to editors

The Metropolitan Police Authority took over responsibility for the Metropolitan Police Service from the Home Secretary on 3 July. Lord Toby Harris is the Chair and Peter Herbert and Richard Barnes are Deputy Chairs.

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