PCC unveils new fund to enhance support for victims of crime

Charities and community organisations providing support to victims and witnesses of crime are being invited to bid for vital funding to improve their services.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston has launched a new fund to ensure all victims of crime – including those from minority communities who find it more difficult to access help – receive the support they need to recover and move on with their lives.

The PCC has set aside £45,000 for the scheme in 2022-23 although will consider increasing the fund if bids exceed the allocated funding. Organisations can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 to support their work.

The fund, which has been taken from the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Core Victim Services Grant given to the PCC to deliver support services across the county, is designed to help providers resource work that is not covered by other funding streams.

Darryl said: “Supporting victims and witnesses of crime is one of the core priorities in my Police and Crime Plan. I have promised to always put their needs first and ensure the services we fund across the county provide the best possible chance of recovery.

“I am working hard to build trust and confidence in our support services to encourage more victims of crime to come forward. This fund will pay particular attention to projects and services which support victims from hard-to-reach communities to remove some of the barriers those individuals may face when accessing help.”

Organisations can use the funding for the provision of new or upgraded technology to help staff better support victims and witnesses or to cover travel budgets to enable victims or witnesses to access face-to-face support in a one-to-one setting or group work.

They can also use the grant for translation services which enable non-English speaking victims or witnesses to access support or for the development of translation resources which enable individuals to seek help.

Other possible uses include funding to develop peer support groups to help victims move on from intensive support, freeing up access to help for others, outreach and engagement work with seldom heard from communities to build their trust and confidence to access support and professional staff training or accreditation.

The fund is only open to local organisations which already provide support services for victims and witnesses of crime in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and have a funding arrangement currently in place with the PCC/county council or within the last financial year.

The deadline for completed applications is Monday 7 November. All funding must be spent by 31st March 2023. To apply visit: https://www.cambridgeshire-pcc.gov.uk/get-involved/funding/