To protect, support and respond to victims, witnesses and vulnerable people and tackle abuse, exploitation and violence in all their forms.

I will:

  • Promote hate crime prevention initiatives and encourage and facilitate the reporting in all forms of hate crime.
  • Help keep people safe in their homes by working with the local authorities, Health and the Fire and Rescue Service to provide Total Home Safety advice.
  • Work with Community Mental Health Trusts to ensure that the police are the service of last resort and not the service of first resort for people suffering a mental health crisis.
  • Ensure victims are read their rights at the point of report or as soon after as possible as with offenders.
  • Commission victim services to give people access to a range of specialist victim support services to help victims and their families cope with the impact of crime and recovery from their experience.
  • Ensure compliance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.
  • Develop a violence against women and girls strategy.
  • Introduce voluntarily recording of misogyny as a hate crime indicator.
  • Domestic violence protection notices and orders; press for imposition of restraining orders.
  • Ensure that stalking legislation and powers are effectively adhered to and measured.
  • Support the use of robust domestic violence perpetrator programmes so as to prevent domestic violence and abuse happening in the future.
  • Work with partners agencies to keep care-experienced young people out of the criminal justice system.
  • Support and work with schools to reduce school exclusions and off rolling so that we keep children in school education.
  • Ensure policies about young people will be made after engaging and involving young people.
  • Divert young people from becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour through a range of education, employment, leisure and training activities.
  • Divert those suffering with chronic addiction away from the criminal justice system towards treatment and harm prevention.
  • Commission research into the cost of alcohol harm to Durham Constabulary.
I'll commission research into gambling related harm (GRH) and gambling disorder.
  • Improve investigation into offenders gambling addiction and its role in the commissioning of the crime and present the findings to the CPS and the Court.
  • Introduce the Lie/Bet questionnaire at point of arrest in a similar way to drug and alcohol testing.
  • Add additional question to ask victims of domestic assault to specifically include gambling (in addition to drugs/alcohol).
  • Consider GRH when investigating missing persons or sudden death.
  • Encourage those presenting with GRH to be referred to NHS Gambling Clinic to prevent further harm and crime.
  • Press for the Gambling Commission to thoroughly investigate operator’s code of conduct to identify negligent behaviour before charging and sentencing.
  • Advocate introducing a gambling treatment requirement for community and suspended sentence orders for those presenting with GRH.
  • Train Police, PCSOs to identify gambling addiction and to understand the links between suicide, mental health, homelessness, domestic abuse, child neglect and gambling.
Link to Instagram Link to Twitter Link to YouTube Link to Facebook Link to LinkedIn Link to Snapchat Close Fax Website Location Phone Email Calendar Building Search