Unit for North Yorkshire’s crime victims is launched by police

A new service offering victims of crime in North Yorkshire a single point of contact for accessing services and support has been launched.

The Supporting Victims North Yorkshire service, based in York, provides support and guidance via a dedicated telephone service and can refer victims to specialist teams.

Prior to the service being launched on Wednesday, most victims in the county were referred by North Yorkshire Police to Victim Support in Wakefield, a service used by the region’s other three forces.

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North Yorkshire’s police commissioner decided to pull out of a region-wide referral centre and set up a local unit for her county after raising fears local victims were “falling through the cracks”.

Responsibility for paying for and planning local victim referral services for victims passed from the Government to police and crime commissioners (PCCs) from April 1.

Victim Support, the charity that runs the schemes nationwide, said in February that there was still “uncertainty” over funding for its work in Yorkshire. But it confirmed yesterday that an agreement had been reached with PCCs. Regional director Carolyn Hodrien said: “We know from helping hundreds of thousands of people across the region, how important it is they can get the help they need to cope and recover after becoming the victim of a crime.”

Mrs Mulligan said about the York service: “Being a victim of crime can be a difficult thing to deal with, and whilst some people are able to cope without help, others need some specialist support. I have launched this service for people living in North Yorkshire because I want to make sure that we do everything we can to help victims of crime to recover and get on with their lives.”

Supporting Victims North Yorkshire can be contacted on via email on [email protected] or by phone on 01904 669 276.