£4.5M to help victims contribute towards community safety and aid reduction of serious violence

More than £4.5M is being spent in Wiltshire this year (2023/4) to help and support victims, contribute towards community safety, and reduce serious violence and reoffending.

The budget is held by Wiltshire’s Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and financed from money raised through the precept and grant funding from central government and additional funding from the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.

OPCC’s Commissioned Services, a department within the office, ensures all funding is allocated to organisations and charities which provide the services needed to deliver the PCC’s Making Wiltshire Safer: Police and Crime Plan 2022-25 and the Wiltshire Criminal Justice Board (WCJB) Strategy.

Wiltshire PCC Philip Wilkinson said: “It is really important the public understand why my office commissions the services it does and the vital support these funded services are delivering across the broad spectrum of the criminal justice system in order that Wiltshire Police can concentrate on policing, fighting crime, and making Wiltshire Safer.

“My office commissions services which help and support victims, contribute to community safety, as well as co-ordinating services which will help aid the reduction of serious violence in our communities and work hand-in-glove with Wiltshire Police.

“All of these elements are key in delivering the priorities within my police and crime plan and are often a by-product of policing and the criminal justice system, like victims support and rehabilitation services, but are not, and should not, be provided by Wiltshire Police.”

Victims’ services commissioned and funded by the OPCC include:

• Grants to Wiltshire’s Horizon service, which supports victims and provides restorative justice services.
• Funding allocated to Splash, which supports children who have been victims of crime.
• Funding to provide Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) to help support victims.
• Funding to provide refuge and safe spaces for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
• Funding allocated to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, which supports victims of serious sexual offences without having to have a police referral.

“Supporting victims in the time when they are most vulnerable and need help is a core priority for my office and is a clear priority contained within my police and crime plan,” Mr Wilkinson continued. “We know we cannot eradicate crime completely so we must ensure the service we are funding is delivering for victims when they need it most.”

Mr Wilkinson continued: “Making our communities safer places to live, work and enjoy needs a holistic approach and requires co-ordination with a variety of partners across the criminal justice system. My office helps to bring those agencies together and ensure the police and crime plan and Wiltshire’s criminal justice board are being delivered cohesively.”

For more information on the commissioning budget and where funding is being allocated, please visit: www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk