Caerphilly county borough’s Victims Champion has provided help and support to 113 families who are experiencing anti-social behaviour since February this year.
Lana Harrison aims to promote the needs of anti-social behaviour victims in Caerphilly county borough and coordinate local services to help ensure that victims receive the support and information they want and need.
The service can also offer support through acting as a single point of contact for victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour, providing professional emotional guidance and support.
The Victims Champion can provide practical advice on issues such as crime prevention and target hardening, i.e. making homes and property more secure. The service can also help by providing support to the victim with court proceedings should they be required to attend court, and can refer the victim to counselling services if appropriate.
Mrs Davies* from Caerphilly experienced anti-social behaviour over the past few months. She said, “I reported the anti-social behaviour to the council, and in fairness to them they worked hard to resolve the issue which is now much, much better.”
She continued, “I was pleased when Lana contacted me to see if she could offer me any help – I think just having someone on the end of the phone to talk to made me feel so much more reassured, and I would recommend anyone who is in a similar situation to what I was to contact the Victims Champion to see if she can help you like she did me”.
As part of her role, Lana has also been working with control room operators at Gwent Police to provide further training on how to handle calls from victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour in addition to victims of crime.
Cllr Lyn Ackerman, Cabinet Member for the Environment said, “Lana has made a tremendously positive impact in the short time she has been in post, and has provided another tool in our armoury for tackling anti-social behaviour in Caerphilly county borough“.
She continued, “Our approach to tackling anti-social behaviour is two-fold. In addition to the pro-active work that we carry out with our partners to tackle, prevent and enforce instances of anti-social behaviour, we are also able to provide dedicated support to the victims and witnesses of this behaviour, and advise them of their rights and on how to move forward”.
The services the Victims Champion offers forms part of the Home Office’s ‘Justice Seen Justice Done’ initiative, of which Caerphilly county borough is a pioneer area. The initiative aims to increase public confidence in how crime is tackled and justice delivered.
For further information on the Safer Caerphilly Community Safety Partnership, please visit the Safer CCB website.
Lana would also like to hear from you if you would like to volunteer to help provide support to victims and witnesses of anti-social behaviour in Caerphilly county borough. To contact Lana Harrison, the Victims Champion for Caerphilly county borough, please call her on 01443 866920 or email her at [email protected]
