Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary hubs launched to help crime victims

PCC Donna Jones said the service would provide emotional support and guide victims through the criminal justice process

A Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has launched a £4m service that will focus on helping the victims of crime.

PCC Donna Jones said the Victim Care Hub would provide emotional support and guide victims through the criminal justice process in the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary area.

It is hoped it will free up officers to concentrate on frontline duties and reduce demand on the 101 service.

The hubs are based in four police stations in the region.

Each will be staffed by teams of six to eight support workers, operating alongside the detectives, the PCC said.

The service is being delivered by national charity Victim Support, and victims do not have to report to the police to use it.

The hubs will be based at:

• Newport Police Station on the Isle of Wight

• Eastern Police Investigation Centre in Portsmouth

• Western Police Investigation Centre in Southampton

• Northern Police Investigation Centre in Basingstoke

The hubs are based in the largest police stations in the region, including Basingstoke

PCC Jones told the BBC 35,000 calls came through on the police's non-emergency 101 number last year, but many callers needed specialist call handlers.

She said having the new staff would mean "more police time spent on investigating, detecting, and preventing crimes", while victims got "much better tailored support".

She added: "What I don't want is for victims of crime to be passed from pillar to post, to have several different people that they're talking to in the lead up to a complicated, harrowing trial that they may be giving key evidence in.

"If you are unfortunate to become the victim of crime, or a repeat victim of crime, you [will] get the very best support that's available in the country."

Claire Jenkins, Assistant Chief Constable for crime and criminal justice, said "at the heart" of the force's objectives was "putting victims first".

The PCC's office has provided £850,000 per year for the service up to March 2029, with a total cost of £4,391,667.

It is allocated from the Ministry of Justice Victim's Core Grant Fund budget.

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