Review into crime services in London
12 September 2013, 12:06 | Updated: 12 September 2013, 12:09
There is going to be a big review into how the Met deals with victims of crime in London
The Victim's Commissioner Baroness New-love is leading a review into how victims and witnesses in London are treated by the Met police.
Crime victims here face the longest delays in their cases going to court and over a quarter feel ignored by the police.
The Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) is committed to delivering on London's first Police and Crime Plan, where it has set out targets to reduce key crimes by 20 per cent, cut costs by 20 per cent and boost public confidence in the police by 20 per cent by 2016.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has the lowest victim satisfaction rating of any force and victims in London face the longest delays in getting their cases heard in court. Four in ten victims think the criminal justice system fails to provide them with the support that they need and over a quarter feel that the views of victims and witnesses are not taken into account.
Since the appointment of the MPS Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe in 2011, the MPS has made victim care a priority, with a guaranteed offer of a personal visit to all victims of crime that has led to an extra 175 victim visits a day.
Baroness Newlove said "I am looking forward to working with The Mayors Office for Policing and Crime to review how witnesses and victims and crime are supported in London. I am aware of some wonderful voluntary and statutory groups who support vulnerable people and I want to make sure that all service providers are heard and not those that shout loudest. I know from my own experience how the correct support can help you and your loved ones and sadly and all too often that when that support is not made available how people can suffer. Victims of crime should not be provided services based solely on crime types but on their individual needs. What I do know is that victims collectively want what is happening to them to stop and this review needs to focus on making this happen and supporting individual victims' needs."