Families of knife crime victims speak out to call for change
Three people who have lost a family member to knife crime have shared their stories and made a call for change in how knife crime is dealt with in Scotland.
We are delighted to have received £500,000 from the Scottish Government to implement new specialist remote evidence suites at a new office facility in Edinburgh. The funding is part of a £2million investment from the Government, to provide additional access to specialist suites to pre-record evidence, away from the courtroom.
In a visit to our offices in Glasgow yesterday, Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance MSP underscored the importance of prioritising victims and witnesses within the justice system, emphasising the need for early intervention and support. She commended the role of VSS in providing essential services and highlighted the significance of the additional funding in expanding their reach and impact.
During her visit she was able to see our five existing evidence suites first-hand at our Glasgow offices, and experience a live link to court.
Ms Constance remarked, “This significant investment in our court estate means that children and those who have been victims of some of the most traumatic crimes are supported to give their best evidence as early as possible in the process, and in advance of trial.”
Kate Wallace, Chief Executive of Victim Support Scotland welcomed the funding. She said:
“We at Victim Support Scotland are entirely committed to supporting victims and witnesses to give their best evidence.
“Victims consistently tell us about the traumatic impact of giving evidence, including the anxiety of attending an often-intimidating court building. Being able to give evidence in a location different to the court, known as remote evidence, can help reduce this dramatically.
“This welcome funding from the Scottish Government will allow us to extend remote evidence suites to our new office facility in Edinburgh to complement the remote evidence suites at our Glasgow offices.
“We’re delighted to be able to embrace available technology to offer more choice and control to victims and witnesses.”
The investment aims to enhance accessibility to specialised facilities where victims can provide their testimony in a safe and supportive environment away from the courtroom. The new VSS evidence suites in Edinburgh are due to be open at the end of this summer.
