Here's one issue that should arise when the elections for Police and Crime Commissioners finally get under way. Funding for Victim Support will be decided locally by the Commissioners and Victim Support the charity are already campaigning to change this.
Personally I am ambivalent about the need for a chari-business with a CEO and professional fundraisers and lobbyists - but I do value the work done by the thousands of unpaid volunteers and am concerned that one person, with little or no experience of the court process, should decide the level of service available.
The money involved is not trivial. Every court fine is automatically accompanied by a £15 surcharge "for the victims of crime." No one is convinced that every penny of this goes to the Victim Support service, but nevertheless...
I would love to know what Sarah Russell thinking is on the subject, and in due course I will surely ask. In the meantime, you can read Victim Support's official position
here.
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