Victim Support Services

The request was successful.

Anne-Marie Sahakian

Dear Kent Police and Crime Commissioner,

Please provide contract information including contract values, contract start and end dates and names of providers of your victim support services.

Victim support services may include but are not limited to:
- Victim engagement and support services
- Victim assessment and referral services
- Victims triage services
- Vulnerable victims services
- Victims of CSE services
- Victims of domestic abuse services
- Restorative justice services

Please also highlight whether these services are delivered in house by the PCC or local police force; and specify what the PCC’s commissioning intentions are for future victim support services.

Many thanks in advance.

Yours faithfully,

A.Sahakian

PCC Correspondence Kent,

1 Attachment

Thank you very much for your email.

 

So that we can help to resolve the issues in your communications with this
office, we may need to share your concerns and contact details with
partner agencies.  These may include Kent Police, but also local
authorities and other relevant bodies.  We will take your issue forward on
this basis, but if you don’t wish us to do so please let us know within 48
hours. 

 

Thank you once again for contacting the Office of the Kent Police and
Crime Commissioner.

 

 

Kent Police contact details

 

For all non emergencies, contact 101 to report the matter to Kent Police.
You can also go online:
[1]http://www.kent.police.uk/contact_us/con...

 

If you have an emergency, call 999.

 

 

This email and any other accompanying document(s) contain information from
Kent Police and/or Essex Police, which is confidential or privileged. The
information is intended to be for the exclusive use of the individual(s)
or bodies to whom it is addressed. The content, including any subsequent
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any disclosure, copying, distribution or other use of the contents of this
information is prohibited. If you have received this email in error,
please notify us immediately by contacting the sender or telephoning Kent
Police on 01622 690690 or Essex Police on 01245 491491, as appropriate.

References

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1. http://www.kent.police.uk/contact_us/con...

Suzanne Scott 46058860,

5 Attachments

Dear Ms Sahakian

 

Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information Request (FoIR) received
by the Office of the Kent Police & Crime Commissioner (OKPCC).

 

Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) places two duties on
public authorities.  Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section
1(1) (a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in a
request is held.  The second duty at Section 1(1) (b) is to disclose
information that has been confirmed as being held.

 

Where exemptions are relied upon Section 17 of the FoIA requires that we
provide the applicant with a notice which: a) states that fact, b)
specifies the exemption(s) in question and c) states (if that would not
otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.

 

Please provide contract information including contract values, contract
start and end dates and names of providers of your victim support
services.

Victim support services may include but are not limited to:

 

     - Victim engagement and support services

     - Victim assessment and referral services

     - Victims triage services

     - Vulnerable victims services

     - Victims of CSE services

     - Victims of domestic abuse services

     - Restorative justice services

 

Please also highlight whether these services are delivered in house by the
PCC or local police force; and specify what the PCC’s commissioning
intentions are for future victim support services

 

Having considered your request, I can confirm the information that you
requested is held.  However, any information which is already in the
public domain renders it exempt from release by virtue of the exemption at
Section 21 (Information accessible to applicant by other means) of the
FoIA.  In this respect, I draw your attention to the following links, and
those provided in the main text of this e-mail. 

 

·        
[1]https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/Police%20and...
(documents regarding the annual refresh of this document are attached. 
Commissioned Services Allocations are provided on Appendix 1 of the Draft
Refreshed Police and Crime Plan). 

·         [2]https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/victims.html

 

 

Mrs Barnes, the Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC) is committed to
providing a quality service that puts victims at its very heart and this
is reflected within her Police & Crime Plan priorities. Crime affects
people in different ways and therefore support services need to be
flexible enough to accommodate those diverse needs, with the aim of
helping victims to cope and recover. This approach runs through the
Commissioner’s support for victims services.  

 

To summarise, in April 2015 the Commissioner provided a one year grant to
the independent charity, Victim Support to offer core victim support
services to victims of crime in Kent.  Following a rigorous tender
process, Victim Support has now been awarded a three year contract to
commence in April 2016 with an option to extend annually for up to a
further three years.  This service is tasked with supporting up to 75,000
victims of crime in Kent, who have either formally reported the crime they
have suffered or who do not feel confident reporting to the Police but
would benefit from support. The annual contract value is £950,000.

 

Victim Support work alongside Kent Police Witness Care Unit and other
partnership agencies in Compass House in Ashford, Kent.  Compass House
opened in April 2015 and is the co-located hub for care and advice
services for victims and witnesses of crime in Kent. Further information
about Compass House can be found at
[3]https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/compass-hous...

 

In addition to the core service contract, grants are given to specialist
providers where victims require more specialist support than can be
provided by the core service. Further information, including details of
the organisations that have been awarded grants can be found at
[4]https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/victims-fund... The OKPCC also have
the Commissioner’s Fund.  This fund is open for quarterly bids to
voluntary, community groups and charities and is administered by Safer
Kent on behalf of the Commissioner.  The support of victims of crime was
one of the criteria for bids in 2015/16 and the maximum grant available is
£2,000.  More details about the Commissioner’s Fund and the organisations
who have received grants can be found at
[5]http://kent-pcc.gov.uk/commissioners-fun... Additionally, in 2015/16
the PCC also had a Partnership Fund (£25,000 per year) which was available
to Community Safety Partnerships to deliver and develop innovative
projects across agencies and district boundaries.  More information about
the Partnership Fund can be found at
[6]https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/partnership-... and this again
includes details of the organisations which have received grants. 

 

Under the FoIA, if you feel your request has not been properly handled or
you are otherwise dissatisfied with the outcome of your request, you have
the right to appeal. This would be to this Office in the first instance.
You can do this by e-mail or by post to the address at the foot of this
communication. We will then conduct an internal review to investigate the
matter and endeavour to reply within 20 working days. 

 

If you remain dissatisfied following this process and do not believe we
can help you any further, then you may wish to apply to the Information
Commissioner at Wyecliffe House, Water Lane, Cheshire SK9 5AF for a
decision.  Further information about this process can be found at
https://ico.org.uk/.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

(sent unsigned by e-mail)

 

 

Mr N. WICKENS

Head of Policy Co-ordination and Research

 

Sent obo Mr Wickens by:

Suzanne Scott

Office and Correspondence Manager

 

Office of the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner

South Block, Kent Police Headquarters, Sutton Road, Maidstone, Kent ME15
9BZ

Email:  [7][Kent PCC request email]

Website: [8]www.kent-pcc.gov.uk

Twitter:[9]@PCCKent

 

[10]Email signature - Generic-01

 

This email and any other accompanying document(s) contain information from
Kent Police and/or Essex Police, which is confidential or privileged. The
information is intended to be for the exclusive use of the individual(s)
or bodies to whom it is addressed. The content, including any subsequent
replies, could be disclosable if relating to a criminal investigation or
civil proceedings. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that
any disclosure, copying, distribution or other use of the contents of this
information is prohibited. If you have received this email in error,
please notify us immediately by contacting the sender or telephoning Kent
Police on 01622 690690 or Essex Police on 01245 491491, as appropriate.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/Police%20and...
2. https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/victims.html
3. https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/compass-hous...
4. https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/victims-fund...
5. http://kent-pcc.gov.uk/commissioners-fund
6. https://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/partnership-...
7. mailto:[Kent PCC request email]
8. http://www.kent-pcc.gov.uk/
9. https://twitter.com/PCCKent