1. Victim Support West Mercia VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES
Beckii Rowlands – Independent Victim Advocate
Jess Clark – Independent Victim Advocate
Victim Support West Mercia VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES

2. Our Vision and Values
Our vision: is of a world where victims and witnesses are given the support they need and the respect they deserve.
Our mission: making our vision a reality
To provide victims and witnesses with high quality practical
and emotional support.
To champion the interest of victims and witnesses.
To construct a sustainable operating model in order to
deliver support for victims and witnesses in the future.

3. Victim Services
Delivered predominantly by Independent Victim Advocate and volunteers.
Victim Support offers a broad range of services delivered by professional and expert teams who tailor support to meet the individual needs of anyone who has been affected by crime – whether reported to the police or not. We support all crime types and tailor support to clients needs/wants.
Support all kinds of crime – including but not limited to domestic abuse, sexual abuse, burglary, assault and ASB.
Emotional support – developing strategies to help people cope emotionally. Building confidence and self esteem.

4. Our Services Homicide Service Restorative Justice Supportline
Local service delivery:
Independent Victim Advocate and Volunteer model
Homicide Service
Restorative Justice
Supportline

5. Victim Services Emotional Support
Support can be delivered via face to face appointments, over the phone or by (dependent on what the client prefers).
VS offers an independent person to talk in confidence
Confidence and self-esteem building
Developing coping strategies
Building up support networks
Beyond crime toolkits (workbooks targeting sleep, anger, wellbeing etc.)
Additional support for vulnerable clients:
Easy read version of toolkits.
Access to interpreting services (Big word)
Text relay service
Previously made links with local services such as deaf direct

6. Sleep Workbook

7. Sleep Workbook

8. Anger Workbook

9. Anger Workbook

10. Victim Services Practical Support
Advice on personal safety; including safety planning tailored to the client’s needs and raising awareness of apps such as Bright Sky/ Hollie Guard.
Advice on home security. VS toolkits (‘How to protect your property’ etc.)
VEV Service – Taking photos of criminal damage/ injuries of victims who are not ready to go to the police.
Support writing the Victim Personal Statement.
Information about police and court procedures/ The Victim’s Code.
Information on further support from specialist services such as CICA, Witness service etc.
Additional support for vulnerable clients
Information leaflets provided in other languages (Polish, Arabic, Urdu etc.)
Communication needs assessment

11. Victim Services Children and Young People Services
Support can be provided to children aged 4 and upwards.
Parental consent is required for anyone under 16, however, support can be provided without a parent being present for anyone over the age of 13.
Also provide indirect support to CYP via parent/carer.
CYP support is similar to support offered to adults but adapted to incorporate play.
Toolkits are designed for specific age groups that cover safety planning, goal setting, how it feels to be angry and worried, and how to deal with these emotions, as well as self-esteem and confidence.
Use My Star to track progress.
Do not support CYP victims of domestic or sexual abuse as there are specialist agencies such as WMRSASC, WMWA. (In some circumstances we may support - but would recommend going through specialist agencies first).

12. Safety Plan and Anger – 13-18 year olds
Worry Scale and Letting Go of Worries – 8-12 year olds
Building self esteem – 4-7 year olds

13. National Homicide Service
Last year our Homicide Service supported more than 1,416 people bereaved by murder and manslaughter in England and Wales. We have a unique agreement with police forces who inform us when a death has occurred and a murder or manslaughter investigation is underway. In this way, we can assign a dedicated caseworker to support anyone bereaved by homicide

14. Restorative Justice Warwickshire and West Mercia
“Restorative Justice is a process where all the stakeholders affected by an injustice have an opportunity to discuss how they have been affected by the injustice and to decide what should be done to repair the harm” (MoJ, 2014)
Restorative Justice is available for all crime types at all stages of the criminal justice system. There is no blanket ban on certain offences, in line with the Victims Code of Practice Each case will be assessed on an individual basis.
213 RJ Cases in 18 months (since April 2017)
Engaged with 213 victims of crime
Engaged with 202 offenders/harmers
Worked with 114 different professionals
Met with and prepared 47 supporters
evidence of what works and progression of service through development

15. Supportline National Victim Supportline: 0808 1689 111 Phone line and Live chat operated 24/7

16. Victim Support cannot
Counsel victims (we will provide emotional support)
Provide direct information from the police to a victim (we can advise how to do this or the officer to ask them to contact & advise Victim’s Code)
Provide financial support (we can give food vouchers or refer to food banks)
Recommend suppliers (i.e. security equipment, solicitors etc.) (we can provide limited security equipment, personal alarms, door & window alarms etc.)
Tell a victim what to do (we can help a victim explore their options)
We do not normally support high level risk domestic violence but do liaise closely with other supporting agencies if we identify high risk issues
However, we can suggest & signpost to other agencies if the support needed is outside our remit.

17. Referring to Victim Support
Starting in April all referrals from West Mercia Police will come through VAL. Should a victim need support VAL should be contacted initially and they will refer to VS.
Victim’s do need to consent to their details being passed on and for crimes involving domestic or sexual abuse and violence, explicit consent is required.
Referrals can also be made by calling us direct. We also accept self referrals and other agency referrals.

18. Thank you for listening – any questions?
How to contact us: New referrals VARC – (Weekdays 8am to 8pm, Saturdays 9am to 5pm) West Mercia: South Worcestershire (Fiona Raychell & Beckii Rowlands) Herefordshire (Jessica Clark) North Worcestershire (Liz Finn and Sarah Chatfield) Shropshire (Jane Jones & Carrie O’Keefe) Telford & Wrekin (Ruth Russell Hayley Lane) National Victim Supportline: (24/7)

19. Thank you