Number of victims of crime seeking support services up 37%

A charity which provides support services to the victims of crime has revealed that the number of victims accessing its service has increased by 37% in the last two years.

The increase is largely driven by a national expansion of the services offered by Victim Support at Court (V-SAC).

In 2018, the charity, which provides a court accompaniment service to victims and witnesses during criminal proceedings in the Criminal Courts of Justice, and District and Circuit Courts, expanded to help victims attending regional courts.

V-SAC General Manager Dympna Kenny said: “There has been a significant increase in demand for services from victims of crime, not only as a result of our expansion into the regional courts but also within the CCJ in Dublin.

“We have seen a 37% increase since 2016. In the year to December 2018, we provided assistance and support to 1,365 victims and witnesses attending trials, sentencing hearings and appeals.

"Our volunteers have given over 1,200 days of their time and there were almost 5,500 individual contacts with victims."