Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 46
46
Deferred
Paragraph: 112
Unacceptable delay in appointing Victims' Commissioner undermined trust and confidence in policing.
Conclusion
Victim and survivor care is one of the basics that policing has to get right. We agree that failure to prioritise the needs of victims and survivors in the past has undermined trust and confidence in policing today. We are pleased to see that an interim Victims’ Commissioner has finally been appointed. It is, to us, wholly unacceptable that the position was vacant from September 2022 until October 2023. The Government has explained that the recent appointment is temporary in order to “enable a new recruitment campaign to be launched which better reflects the new responsibilities the role will have once the Victims and Prisoners Bill is passed.” We invite the Government to explain in its response to this report why an interim commissioner could not have been appointed a year ago.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government describes the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences and its terms of reference, rather than addressing the committee's concerns about the vacancy of the Victims' Commissioner.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
112
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The NPCC guidance also sets out that when an individual reports as a victim of crime, the focus should always be to investigate the allegation and put in place reasonable measures to protect the victim from harm. It refers officers to the College of Policing’s guidance on initiating support and protection for victims of domestic abuse within the Major Investigations and Public Protection Authorised Professional Practice which guides officers to measures to protect the victim and signpost to local support services.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗