Service that helps victims of crime in Harborough wins national award

An outstanding scheme to support distressed victims of crime throughout Harborough has won national recognition.

Catch22's Victim First service was commissioned by Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach.

The blueprint has now been awarded the Quality Mark from Supporting Justice.

The free and confidential service backs victims and witnesses of crime across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

To achieve Quality Mark standard, services must demonstrate they meet all quality and performance indicators during assessments, site visits and submitted evidence.

Victim First case workers, service users and partner organisations were interviewed as part of the process.

Supporting Justice highlighted the "highly-committed" caseworkers, effective management and "tangible sense of enthusiasm and commitment" to helping victims.

Catch22 Director of Justice, Lisa Smitherman, said: "The Quality Mark gives victims and witnesses the assurance of the high-quality support they will receive and gives commissioners the confidence that local victims are being supported by the very best service.

"Victim First has made an exceptional effort to focus the service on meeting the specific needs of all the communities it is supporting."

Lord Bach said: "I am pleased Victim First has been accredited with the Quality Mark, demonstrating its exceptional standards of victim care.

“Earning a place in this quality framework is not only good news for the caseworkers and volunteers at the forefront of victim services in Leicestershire.

“It’s also very positive for victims of crime who can be assured their needs and welfare will be met by the highest level of support."

Manjeeta Sunnar, Head of Service for Victim First, said: "Every team member is passionate about providing the best support they can to our community and this shone through during the whole process.

“It has made us feel more confident and positive about what we do at Victim First.

"Even though we are proud of what we have achieved, we are constantly learning new ways to improve ourselves and will keep doing this to make Victim First even better."

Catch22 and Victim First have been taking care of victims and witnesses across Leicestershire since 2015.

Catch22 also delivers victims’ services across Nottinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

Staff supported more than 20,000 victims or witnesses of crime altogether in 2019.