The Victims and Policing Minister, Mike Penning visited Leicester yesterday to see the work carried out by a domestic abuse and sexual violence project.
The specialist project which is funded by the Ministry of Justice and Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader and was set up in October last year with a £400,000 grant.
Project 360 was established as a multi-agency targeted approach to help support victims of the most serious crimes, victims who are vulnerable or intimidated and those who are persistently targeted. The project also provides a free-phone helpline, outreach posts across the county, support for families and friends and training and awareness raising for the public and professionals.
Mike Penning MP visited the Project 360 team, which is managed by the Leicestershire Police Domestic Abuse Team, along with Sir Clive Loader to see what has been achieved since the project started in October 2014.
He said, “Organisations like Project 360 do an incredible job in supporting victims and are an excellent example of why Police and Crime Commissioners are the best people to decide where money should be spent locally.
“We cannot underestimate the impact crime has on its victims, which is why this Government is spending more than ever before on specialist support, including diverting more than £40m to be spent on the ground by PCCs, on top of a wide range of new measures brought in to help victims cope, and where possible, recover and move on with their lives.
“These are making a huge difference across the country, and I was delighted to be here today to see the hard work of this invaluable organisation first hand.”
Sir Clive Loader said, “It was a real pleasure to welcome the Minister to Leicestershire and to show him what has been achieved with the additional funding we received from the Ministry of Justice. It has gone a long way in enhancing services that aim to improve the lives of victims affected by two very serious crime types.
“I was thrilled to showcase the great work we are doing here in Leicestershire, in partnership with other providers from across the city and counties that are committed to putting an end to these terrible crimes.”
Mr Penning also visited Leicestershire Police headquarters to meet with the Chief Constable, Simon Cole, to discuss the Force’s performance.
