Victims of crime and anti-social behaviour will have top priority throughout Ron Hogg’s second term of office, he announced this week.
Emphasising this commitment, Ron said that he will now be known as Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington.
Speaking at the ceremony to swear the oath of office, at Durham County Hall today, Hogg said: “I will be working closely with partners in the public and voluntary sectors to ensure that the needs of victims are foremost as they progress through the criminal justice system.
“Services should be customised to the needs of individuals. For example, I want to bring in specific support services for victims of hate crime, and for those with mental health problems.
“I have added the word ‘victims’ to my job title to emphasise how important they are, and I expect that local people will hold me to account for this’.
Hogg also indicated that he would continue to challenge the Government to ensure that funding for policing in County Durham and Darlington is sufficient to meet local needs, and that the threats of child sexual exploitation and cybercrime would also be key areas in his second term.
The ceremony was attended by over 50 people including Councillors from County Durham and Darlington, providers of support services for victims, senior officers from the Police , Fire and Rescue service. The mini-police were on hand to help make sure the event went smoothly.
To view the full text of Ron’s speech, please click here
