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Fraud surged by 24% under Covid. Now a new study reveals around 700,000 victims a year are likely to be highly vulnerable to fraudulent crime and seriously harmed by it
New Victims' Commissioner report maps out victims of fraud and suggests who criminal justice agencies and support services should prioritise. The findings come as the government is set to enhance Action Fraud with new systems and is set to publish its new fraud strategy.
Victims Commissioner seeks clarity on new ministerial portfolios
Dame Vera Baird asks the Justice Secretary for guidance on which ministers will be leading key victims' work, including the Victims' Bill and Rape Review.
We need a separate strategy for tackling physical and sexual violence against men and boys
The Home Office needs to offer a separate strategy for developing the rights and support services for men and boys who are victims of interpersonal violence of a physical or sexual nature.
Victims’ Commissioner urges new Justice Secretary to push on with Victims Bill consultation
"It is the right time to listen to victims and meet their needs to enable the criminal justice system to recover, thrive and improve," says Dame Vera as she welcomes Dominic Raab into post.
New cross-system approach needed to end epidemic of violence against women and girls
Dame Vera Baird endorses HMICFRS call for urgent and fundamental cross-system change to tackle an epidemic of violence against women and girls.
New survey reveals low victim confidence, as Victims’ Commissioner warns victims remain an “afterthought”
Victims are losing faith in the criminal justice system according to a new survey of victims, which suggests less than half of victims would report to the police again based on their experience of the justice system.
BLOG | National Road Victim Month: The value of specialist support must not be underestimated
National Road Victim Month is held annually in August to remember people that have been killed or injured on our roads. To mark the month, Dame Vera Baird blogs on the specialist support needs of road crash victims.
Report urges police forces to stay alert to ‘Covid blaming’ as an excuse or defence by suspects
Responding to the report's findings, the Victims' Commissioner said: "we must not set a precedent whereby defendants are able to use the stresses of lockdown as a justification or defence for killing," as she warned agencies to be "hyper-alert to any form of 'Covid blaming.'"
Lack of bail conditions put domestic abuse victims at risk, finds new HMICFRS report
"To create a system that provides real protection for victims, there needs to be better effective enforcement of breaches of bail," says Victims Commissioner as she calls for breaches of pre-charge bail to be made a criminal offence.
BLOG: Fraud is now an epidemic within a pandemic – the upcoming fraud strategy needs to be bold and ambitious
Fraud has become the volume crime of our times — an epidemic within a pandemic. Yet you wouldn’t know it, to judge from the criminal justice system’s response.