A MULTI-AGENCY hub, which aims to improve support for victims of crime, is the first of its kind in Wales and was officially launched in Gwent yesterday.

The Connect Gwent hub based in the former Blackwood Police Station social club building has brought a range of agencies and organisations together under one roof to improve the way victims of crime are dealt with.

The hub includes Victim Support, a charity that helps victims of crime, New Pathways, an organisation that helps adults and children that have been subjected to sexual abuse, Embrace, a national charity that supports child victims of crime up to the age of 18 and South Wales Fire and Rescue Service. There is also Umbrella Gwent, a charity that helps people with sexual orientation and gender identity equality and inclusion, and a mental health nurse from Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

A woman in her 30s from Gwent who was a victim of domestic violence said she believes this hub is the right approach to help victims of crime. She said she was beaten weekly by her former partner, which led to her being hospitalised in 2013, after he stamped all over her body.

The woman, who did not wish to be named, said: “I was horrendous. I had a really bad experience with the police to the point that I dropped the case. The officers I dealt with were from the domestic violence unit but I don’t believe they had the right training to deal with victims of domestic violence.”

She said she would like to see more training on domestic violence provided to officers and believes the hub will provide better information and support for victims.

Baroness Helen Newlove, the victims commissioner for England and Wales, unveiled the new plaque at the centre yesterday. She became involved in fighting for the voices of victims following the death of her husband Gary Newlove who was murdered outside their home in Cheshire in 2007.

The incident took place after a period of escalating anti-social behaviour in the area. She said her late husband received 14 blows to the head and 14 internal injuries.

She said the system was "cold" and "brutal" to her three daughters during the case.

She said: “For many victims the experience left them feeling humiliated, confused and sadly traumatised.

“Victims are fed up from being pushed from pillar to post and this requirement for them to repeat the same information over again.”

She said she supported the hub with different agencies working together to share information and wanted to see victim care managers as a point of contact for victims through the criminal justice system process.

Connect Gwent is being part funded through the Ministry of Justice Victims’ Services grant, which has been awarded to the PCC for Gwent.

Ian Johnston, police and crime commissioner for Gwent, said: “I recall the launch of the victim charter and many people, cynical people said this is just ticking the box.

“We realised then that the need to protect victims is at the heart of what we do.”

The Connect Gwent will also be launching their own victims charter.

David Davies, 73, is a former Gwent Police inspector and former chairman of the Blackwood Police station social club, where the centre is based. He fought with many others to stop the closure of the social club but says it is "remarkable" to see what has been achieved at the new hub.

Visit www.connectgwent.org.uk or call 01495 232265, 0300 123 2133 to contact Connect Gwent.

* Baroness Helen Newlove, the victims commissioner for England and Wales was given a peerage in the 2010 dissolution honours list and sits in the House of Lords as a Conservative peer.

She became the victims commissioner in December 2012. Her role is to promote the interest of victims and witnesses and to review the operation of the code of practice for victims.

Three teenagers were convicted of the murder of her husband and sentenced to life imprisonment on February 11, 2008.