Provision of Commissioned Service for Independent Road Victim Advocate Services

The Police & Crime Commissioner for Warwickshire provides various support services to victims and survivors of crime in Warwickshire. The Commissioner recognises that there is a need to provide more support for those who are killed and catastrophically injured on Warwickshire roads. Historically, it might be argued such victims and survivors have not been able to access the level of specialist support services as perhaps exist in other areas of crime. It is a matter of concern that road victims are not always perceived as victims and survivors of criminal acts. Yet many deaths and catastrophic injuries arise from collisions that have at their core negligent and culpable driving that results in a criminal charge. Therefore, the Police and Crime Commissioner very much recognises road victims and survivors as those who have suffered as a result of criminal acts. The Commissioner also recognises and respects the massive traumas that are experienced by many when death and catastrophic injury occurs as a result of a sudden and violent road traffic collision. In that context, in 2019 the Commissioner provided grant funding to instigate a pilot project in Warwickshire that became the Warwickshire Independent Road Victim Advisor (IRVA) Service. Funding and delivering this service has been determined to be a universal success. The Commissioner now wishes to make this service more sustainable and fit for the future by making it a commissioned service. The Commissioner has awarded a contract to a provider to deliver Independent Road Victims Advocate (IRVA) Services to directly support victims of road death and catastrophic injury in Warwickshire. The contract shall be for an initial period of 3 years with an option to extend for up to two further periods of 1 year each.