Kent PCC warns of 'devastating' victim support cuts

Matthew Scott said he recognises there are difficult decisions to made but he wants make things better for victims

Cuts to victim support funding could "seriously harm" charities which support people affected by crime, warned the Kent police and crime commissioner (PCC).

Matthew Scott said the government's 4.2% reduction in funding was a "poor decision" that could have a "devastating impact on local charities".

Katie Kempen chief executive of Victim Support, which is the largest organisation affected, said the funding shortfall means it will have to cut core services.

The Home Office said it was "determined to ensure the police have the resources they need".

Mr Scott said the cuts "could really hurt charities at a time when they need the support most".

He said: “There is potential for a devastating impact on local charities and I’m not prepared to stand aside and let that happen.”

The PCC warned the cuts would exacerbate the funding black hole Kent Police was already facing next year of around £10 million.

'Timing could not be worse'

Ms Kempen said funding was necessary to help "support victims through the justice system and recover after the trauma of crime".

She said the "unprecedented cut" combined with the increase in national insurance contributions was "devastating" for their services and would leave victims without "vital support".

She said court delays are at "record levels" and victims are "fast losing faith in the criminal justice system", adding: "The timing could not be worse".

Ms Kempen has called for the government to reverse the decision and instead increase the victims’ services grant.

Colin Knox became a victim of crime 16 years ago when his son was killed in a stabbing

Rob Knox, 18, who appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was murdered outside a bar in London in 2008.

His dad Colin, from Kent, met the policing minister in October to ask for knife crime lessons in schools.

Mr Knox said the cuts to victim support "could make people feel alone and left to deal with the problem of crime on their own".

Increase in police funding

The 4.2% cut is to the Ministory of Justice (MoJ) funding, from which PCCs commission victim support services based on their assessment of local need.

The Home Office said: "The home secretary recently announced an increase of over half a billion pounds in funding for policing and confirmed that forces will be fully compensated for the changes to employer national insurance contributions."