Met launches phoneline for victims to access case information
Sir Mark Rowley and Mayor Sadiq Khan have unveiled the plans today.
The Met has launched a dedicated phone helpline which will make it easier for victims to access key information about their cases.
The service has been funded by a £3m annual investment from City Hall.
Part of the funding will also go towards increasing the number of staff who are responsible for victim care and signposting victims to specialist support services.
Sir Mark has vowed to put victims’ voices at “the heart of everything we do” ahead of a victims’ summit which will be held in London today.
London’s Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman OBE will host the conference, bringing together victims of crime, community advocates and senior figures in criminal justice.
Sir Mark, Mr Khan, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales Max Hill KC and victims and sentencing minister Edward Argar are all due to speak at the event.
Sir Mark said: “Our officers and staff often interact with people during the most traumatic moments of their lives.
“They do a great job in the vast majority of cases but the stretch on their time and the nature of our work sometimes means our follow-up and co-ordination with specialist victim support is not good enough.
“That is why we are harnessing new technology and creating a dedicated team to boost our service.”
As well as the enhanced Met helpline, victims of crime will also be given a QR code with which they can access an online version of the victim information leaflet.
At Friday’s summit, broadcaster and journalist Victoria Derbyshire is set to quiz Sir Mark about his vision for better victim service from the police.
The Met Commissioner has already committed that officers will attend every house burglary that is reported and has ring-fenced £2.5m to reform the command-and-control function.
His turnaround plan aims to restore trust and raise standards in the force, acknowledging that “confidence in the Met has been falling” after a slew of high-profile scandals.
Mr Khan said: “The more time you spend with victims, the more you appreciate the extent to which crime blights lives.
“It can be – and often is – a devastating, violating and traumatising experience.
“It is imperative, therefore, that in their interactions with the authorities – the very institutions that are there to serve and protect them – victims are treated with the utmost compassion, sensitivity and respect.”