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Police and Crime Commissioners and Victim Service Commissioning: From Activism to Marketisation?

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Victimology

Abstract

This chapter examines the significant changes to the commissioning of local victim support services in England and Wales. The year 2012 saw one of the most significant changes to the way in which police forces in England and Wales are managed. For the first time, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were elected and, amongst other duties, they became responsible for commissioning services to support victims in their local areas from 2015. Effectively, this heralded the end of the national charity Victim Support’s monopoly on victim support service provision across the country. This chapter outlines the recent history of support for victims of crime and uses this watershed moment to reflect on this break in tradition. It considers and critically reflects on the governance arrangements that now exist to support victims affected by different types of victimisation, the similarities and differences in service provision, and the impact on those organisations tasked to assist victims in their recovery. Comparisons with other jurisdictions across the globe are variously drawn upon.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The reform was not extended to Scotland, whilst in Northern Ireland roles broadly comparable to those of a PCC are carried out by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

  2. 2.

    As a minimum all PCCs are required to publish a Police and Crime Plan to cover their entire tenure in the role as well as annual reports on the progress of that plan.

  3. 3.

    Broad reflections only will be included here as information from the Group is confidential and was not gathered systematically or originally for the purposes of research. It would therefore be neither methodologically sound nor ethically acceptable to go into specifics. The point is raised largely for the purpose of transparency.

  4. 4.

    Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA.

  5. 5.

    The role of second wave feminism is emphasised by Kearon and Godfrey (2007).

  6. 6.

    Except in relation to adding victims of crime as a group to be consulted on local policing issues though an amendment of the Police Act 1996 (s.14 of the 2011 legislation).

  7. 7.

    Subsequently Newlove visited all PCC offices up and down the country to review provisions first hand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lincoln Law School, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

    Matthew Hall

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  1. Matthew Hall
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Correspondence to Matthew Hall .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK

    Jacki Tapley

  2. Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Pamela Davies

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Hall, M. (2020). Police and Crime Commissioners and Victim Service Commissioning: From Activism to Marketisation?. In: Tapley, J., Davies, P. (eds) Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42288-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42288-2_10

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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