As part of the Government’s prisoner early release scheme, £195,000 has been awarded to PCC John Campion to help ensure victim services can provide vital support to those who need it.

The PCC has chosen to use the funding to enhance the existing West Mercia Victim Support Gateway through a dedicated Victims' Champion role. This role will work collaboratively with local victim support services to address emerging needs and undertake assessments and safety planning for victims – which includes protective measures that help make victims feel safer.

While welcoming the investment, the PCC has stressed that victims must remain at the heart of decisions surrounding the wider early release scheme, with their lived experience helping to shape what kind of support they want and need.

PCC John Campion said: “Any investment that helps victims access support and rebuild their lives following crime is welcome. The impact of crime can be profound and long-lasting, and it is vital that victims know help is available when they need it. That is why I’m pleased to be able to provide this role that will be able to help victims and support them with getting access to measures that make them feel safer.

“However, we must recognise that for many victims, support services are only one part of the picture. Victims want to feel safe and they want confidence that the person who caused them harm is being held accountable and that the justice system is working in their interests.

“Victims deserve to know that they are not an afterthought, which is why it’s so important they are part of the decisions that are being made about what is being offered to them as part of this scheme.”