A HUB has been set up to provide support to victims of crime.

It comes as Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw took over responsibility for providing victim support services after funding was devolved by the Ministry of Justice.

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He said he wanted to give more say to local people on the kind of support needed.

The charity Victim Support will provide the services, which will be available to everyone, regardless of the type of crime or anti-social behaviour they have been a victim of and regardless of whether or not they have reported the crime to the police.

Mr Grunshaw said: “My commitment to people who have been a victim of crime however small, is simple – their needs are the most important thing, and they need to have a voice.

“Victim Services will be there when people need them and it is for the individuals themselves to decide what help and support works for them, and to feel they have access to the information they need – whether that’s about their case, going to court or about the help that’s available to them.

“I am confident Victim Support will offer an excellent service on my behalf, and crucially I have asked them to move their staff to Preston – rather than their current Manchester location – to ensure they are solely focussed on Lancashire’s residents and their needs .”

Victim Support will make contact with victims referred to it via the police, and victims will also be able to call the service directly if they need support at a later date, or to cope and recover from the incident even if they did not report it to police.

The organisation will offer support to individuals directly, or will refer them to specialist services.

These will be announced by the commissioner in the coming weeks, but will include provision for young victims, victims of hate crime and victims of rape, sexual assault and child sexual exploitation.

The commissioner added: “Victim Support will act as the main hub, and they will be able to refer any victims they identify as needing a different kind of support to the relevant agency.

“A common complaint victims have is that there are too many people involved in their journey to recovery – I hope by having a seamless, Lancashire-based process, victims will get the help they need at the first opportunity.”

For more information see lancashire-pcc.gov.uk The Victim Support helpline is 0300 323 0085.