Behind the headlines: Victims of crime in Gwent

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.

The hub includes Victim Support, 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 those with sexual orientation and gender identity issues, and a mental health nurse from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

Other organisations working with the hub include Hafan Cymru, a charitable housing association, Llamau, which helps homeless young people and vulnerable women in Wales, the Senior Citizen Liaison Team, Age Cymru, and Citizens Advice.

The aim of the hub is to improve the way victims of crime are supported in the aftermath of a crime whether it’s rape, domestic abuse, or theft. Connect Gwent is being part funded through the Ministry of Justice Victims’ Services grant, which has been awarded to the police and crime commissioner for Gwent.

The hub went live on April 7, 2015, and was officially launched last week.

Figures released in March, 2015 – by the Office of National Statistics – show that 53 per cent of those surveyed said that Gwent Police do a good/excellent job.

This is as crime in Gwent increased by five per cent from 2013 to 2014, according to figures released in the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

Gwent Police recorded 36,826 crimes in Gwent in 2014; an increase from 34,984 crimes in 2013.

But the force has previously been criticised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for victim satisfaction and its handling of domestic abuse cases.

One victim of domestic abuse – who cannot be named for legal reasons – said she had a “horrendous” experience with the police and wished the hub was in place when she had reported the crimes committed against her. She believes it will better support victims with organisations working together.

She said she was beaten weekly by her former partner, which led to the final incident in which she was hospitalised for almost a week.

This attack left her with severe nerve damage in her leg.

She said: “I had a really bad experience with the police to the point where 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.

“I slipped through the net basically. It took me 10 days to have any contact with support services as there was nothing in place.”

She said she felt treated like a criminal herself.

“I think it’s because they deal with criminals so often on a daily basis that they find it hard to change the way they speak to a victim,” she added. “I think that’s what they need training on.”

She also said that there should be more communication with probation services to let victims know when offenders are being released.

The victim said her partner was jailed for another crime and she reported her abuse to the probation services. But she said she did not know he had been released and he subsequently contacted her via a social media app.

She said her former partner had not only physically abused her but also financially.

“It’s nice to hear that the hub has Victims Support who are like the middle man giving the push to people if they’re not doing the right things,” she added. “I wish they were there when this happened. I wish I had them.”

A Blaenau Gwent woman – who also cannot be named for legal reasons – had been with her partner for six months before the violence started. She said police officers who dealt with her case were outstanding.

She said: “They arrested him that night, they phoned me the following night to say they were releasing him. The police officer came with him to get some of his stuff and then put him on a train out of the area.

“They got him out very quickly, they didn’t mess me about. They were wonderful.”

She said her former partner would tell her not to wear make up and control the way she looked and dressed.

She said: “At that point you’ve started to fall in love with them. They are cruel in one breath and then say they were only joking.

“I could deal with him beating me but not the mental abuse – I always knew when the physical abuse was coming – there was a pattern and then an explosion.

“But with the mental abuse I never knew what was going to happen next.”

She added: “He would more or less strangle me out cold. He was always sorry and buy me whatever I wanted. A month before he was arrested he gave me a black eye and had me up against the wall – he said if I looked at another man he was going to kill me there and then.”

She said members from Victim Support helped her through the court proceedings.

She said: “The day I went to court, they put me in a witness protection room. If it wasn’t for the ladies in Victim Support I would have quite happily walked out of there and dropped it.

“I think it was the time lapse between the offence and getting to court – I think that’s where we are losing the victims. They are thinking it’s gone, it’s past – I just want to move on.”

She said the judge ordered a restraining order and an injunction.

But she said she had no knowledge of Claire’s Law, a domestic violence disclosure scheme, which went nationwide on March 2014. The scheme offers an opportunity for people to find out from police if their partner has a history of domestic violence.

It was piloted by Gwent Police, and named after Clare Wood, who was killed by a former boyfriend.

The Blaenau Gwent victim said she believes the Connect Gwent hub is a step in the right direction as there are so many organisations out there that people are “unsure which is the one they need most”.

She is concerned that not enough support is being given to men who are victims of domestic violence. She also believes only specialist officers should deal with cases of domestic violence.

Baroness Helen Newlove, the victims commissioner for England and Wales, spoke at the opening of the hub. 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 her three daughters witnessed their father being attacked and that the system was “cold” and “brutal” to them.

“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 believes the hub is a good start to improving the way victims are treated in the aftermath of a crime but would like to see victim care managers, who would act be able to take a victim through the whole criminal justice system process.

Ian Johnston, police and crime commissioner for Gwent, has previously launched a victims’ charter, which pledged reducing the number of victims in Gwent as a top priority.

Connect Gwent will also be launching a GiveGvictims’ charter.

Mr Johnston said: “We realised then the need to protect victims and that is at the heart of what we do.”

Sheryl Wasley, a domestic violence complex case worker, for Victim Support, based at the hub, said she had received a case load of 21 victims in the past four weeks. She said: “Sometimes a victim comes through to us who may already have some support in place. There are a lot more victims of domestic abuse out there.”

She said their volunteers are a huge support system for the victims of crimes. They will visit the victims’ homes or a place where they feel safe and talk with them, offering emotional support and information as well as pointing to the right organisations.

Lorraine Bottomley, assistant chief constable at Gwent Police, said senior officers are now calling victims of crime on a more regular basis as well as victims’ filling out surveys. She said the hub will be able to provide a place where the voices of victims will be heard and the police will support them.

Connect Gwent hub is hoping more organisations and charities will be included in the future to help improve the lives of victims of crime. To get in contact, phone 01495 232265/0300 123 2133 or visit connectgwent.org.uk.