The challenge
The Casey Review highlighted significant issues with the service the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) provides to victims of crime. In response to the Casey Review, the MPS End to End Victim Care Improvement Programme was keen for individuals with lived experience to shape and review the content and priorities of the Programme.
Ideas Alliance, in partnership with Collaborate CIC, were commissioned to support the development of the forum.
We aimed to co-create a space where victims of crime and the Met Police could come together and learn from each other in order to shape and enhance support services.
What we did
We worked alongside a group consisting approximately of two Met Police officers, two MOPAC staff, two Victim Support staff and eight victims of crime, taking an appreciative inquiry approach and utilising storytelling methods to break down barriers between participants, build trust and understand each others’ strengths, skills and passions. Key to this was creating a space where people could get to know each other as human beings, rather than by their job titles or their ‘victim status’.
Rather than establish a formal forum, we were deliberate in facilitating around ten workshops which used activities and methods that were creative, engaging and informal: think playing cards, post-it notes and bingo!
Being mindful of the stress and suffering that people had experienced, we adopted a trauma-informed approach throughout and paid attention to co-creating a safe, collaborative space which focused on trust, choice, and empowerment.
Our impact
We helped to establish a space where each of the participants have been able to build trust with each other regardless of whether they’re a victim or a Met Police officer. They work together as colleagues: co-chairing, listening and agreeing actions. The group is passionate, caring and articulate, and our approach has laid the foundations for the group to be confident and collaborative.
The Casey Review highlighted that trust needs to be rebuilt between the MPS and victims of crime. Engagement with individuals with lived experience like the Victim Voice Forum (VVF) enables the MPS and MOPAC to gain valuable insight and drive change together. The Forum has enabled volunteers to shape the work of the MPS and MOPAC to improve the service and support that victims receive.
Following the success of this initial VVF, MOPAC is now actively working with the MPS to establish VVFs for cohorts identified by Casey as having low trust in the MPS – Black communities, women and girls, people with disabilities, young people and LGBTQ+ people.
