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North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin visited the Victim Support Office in St. Asaph on 22 June to learn more about its work in the community, and to meet the team working to ensure victims of crime across North Wales have somewhere to turn for support when they need it.
Named the Victim Help Centre, the office is a one-stop-shop for victims across the whole of North Wales located at divisional police headquarters in St. Asaph Business Park. The centre brings together the support services of North Wales Police, the Witness Care Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service. The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner funds the service as part of its work to make North Wales safer for residents, and it also reflects his Police and Crime Plan published last year, which sets out is his vision to support victims and communities across North Wales.
During his visit, Andy Dunbobbin heard about the staff structure and day to day running of the Victim Help Centre; how it reports to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner on its work; and how staff kept working during the pandemic. Andy also spoke to individual caseworkers covering serious crime caseworker; mental health and wellbeing; modern slavery, and fraud to learn more about their specific areas of expertise.
Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, commented: “I was delighted to visit the Victim Help Centre in St. Asaph. It’s a fantastic example of how my team and I can commission and fund services that have a lasting and deep impact for people across North Wales.
“It is also a great demonstration of how service can work together to deliver genuine outcomes for people – from North Wales Police, to the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office, to Victim Support. Our mission is to reduce crime and stop people being victims in the first place, but when something unfortunate happens, people need to know someone is there to support them and the team at the Victim Help Centre do an excellent job of giving specialist support and advising people at their most vulnerable moments.”
Sioned Jacobsen, Operations Manager at the Victim Help Centre, commented: “It was a pleasure to welcome Andy Dunbobbin to the Victim Help Centre and show him the work we do on a daily basis to support the most vulnerable victims in our communities. We are here to support anyone who has been impacted by a crime at any point in their lives. We aim to help victims move beyond the crime and cope with everyday life. Our highly trained team of staff and volunteers are equipped with the tools and skills needed to build victims resilience and help them develop coping mechanisms.”
When a person becomes a victim of crime, Victim Support receives their details from North Wales Police to enable the team to make contact. When contacted and assessed, each victim receives a response specifically tailored to their situation. There are 13 team members at the centre, including Victim Help Officers who make initial contact with the victims. There are currently five specialist caseworkers across mental health, hate crime, fraud, serious crime and modern day slavery. These numbers are supported by volunteers who support victims across north Wales.
Since the centre opened in 2015 it has supported over 190,000 victims. Most recently the centre supported 20,380 in 2020/21, which includes victims of road crime, domestic abuse, sexual violence and child sexual abuse.
To find out more about the Victim Help Centre, visit: North Wales - Victim Support