Big rise in numbers using crime support group

The organisation which supports victims of crime in court has seen a 27% increase in the number of people availing of its services over the past two years. Victim Support at Court (V-SAC) assisted 1,365 people in 552 criminal proceedings, with more than half of those involved in rape or sexual assault cases.

New figures contained in the organisation’s 2018 annual report show that 22% of those it assisted were attending proceedings relating to murder, manslaughter or attempted murder, something it said was “not unusual”.

There was a slight fall in the use of its services at the Criminal Courts of Justice, but an expansion of its role in other parts of the country. In the report, V-SAC chair Martin J McAndrew wrote that 2018 was significant as it marked the commencement of the introduction of its service to support victims of crime throughout the country.

"We plan to build upon that expansion in the coming years so that we have a fully-serviced national organisation by 2021,” he said. Cases are referred via the director of public prosecutions, the Garda Siochána and other support organisations, with 1,365 victims of crime assisted last year.

It is funded by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime and the service is free. According to general manager, Dympna Kenny: “On one day alone [October 8, 2018), there were 96 victims, witnesses and their family/ friends supported by V-SAC in the criminal courts of justice.

Throughout the year, our staff and volunteers had nearly 5,500 individual contacts with victims and our volunteers gave over 1,200 days in the provision of our service across the different courts.

Last year the V-SAC service was introduced in areas including Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Trim, Bray, Nenagh and Naas Circuit Courts and Blanchardstown District Court. In the courts half of cases involving V-SAC were for sex crimes and 30% for murders, while in Tallaght District Court there was a 10% increase overall in the use of V-SAC support, where 53% of cases involved domestic violence and 25% of cases involved assault.

Separate from those courts, 136 victims, witnesses and their families and friends received support.

According to the report: “V-SAC will build on the awareness on a national level of the court accompaniment service and maintain the momentum of the expansion into other areas in Ireland. Our staff and volunteers will work together, alongside other support agencies, An Garda Siochána, the legal community and court staff in ensuring that no victim is without access to support when attending court.”

www.vsac.ie