County Durham and Darlington Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen is demanding stronger action to rebuild confidence in policing and the justice system following a damning new victims’ survey.
The survey, conducted by the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, is the largest of its kind and includes responses from more than 6,500 victims nationwide.
It highlights widespread failings across the criminal justice system, with many victims reporting poor communication and lengthy delays.
Less than half of those surveyed (42 per cent) said they believed they could achieve justice, while only 51 per cent believed the system was fair.
PCC Allen said: “This survey is an appalling indictment of the ongoing failures of our criminal justice system to protect and support people the very people it was designed for.
“Some of the comments contained in this report are both harrowing and heartbreaking to read.
“They tell the story of victims of unimaginable horrors and trauma, let down, abandoned and failed at a time when they are at their lowest ebb and need help most.
“This is both inhumane and completely unacceptable.
“If we cannot even get the basics right, how can we possibly expect victims to support the duration of the investigative and court process or convince future victims to come forward?
“While there is a great deal of effort and innovation going on in individual force areas, we are an awful long way from uniformity – high-quality victim care is still a postcode lottery.”
The survey also revealed that 41 per cent of rape and sexual assault victims, and 36 per cent of hate crime victims, chose not to report their experiences.
Disparities were also noted across different ethnic groups, with a clear lack of confidence acting as a barrier to reporting.
PCC Allen has committed to working with Chief Constable Rachel Bacon to deliver a first-class service to victims of crime.
Her Police, Crime and Justice Plan puts victims’ needs and voices "first and foremost" in the justice process.
She has pledged to ensure all police and commissioned services comply with the Victims’ Code, and that agencies receive appropriate training to meet their obligations.
A "robust" monitoring mechanism to improve the delivery of the Victims’ Code rights will be implemented.
Other commitments include adopting trauma-informed policing and ensuring the lived experiences of victims shape changes in criminal justice processes.
PCC Allen has also introduced Victim Impact Statements, which require all new policies from her office or the force to be assessed for their impact on victims.
She is now lobbying for Victim Impact Assessments to be adopted by the Ministry of Justice and all criminal justice agencies before policies, processes and practices are signed off.
In addition, PCC Allen has started holding Root Cause Analysis (RCA) meetings.
These meetings bring together senior figures from across the criminal justice system to review specific cases through the perspective of the victim.
The aim is to understand what happened, what should or could have happened, and why.
PCC Allen was also the first PCC in England and Wales to appoint three Victim Champions.
These roles are designed to amplify the voices of victims and ensure their experiences inform policy and commissioning decisions.
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