Victims of crime

Target

To support victims of crime and those at risk of becoming victims of crime, to help them better cope and recover from their experiences.

Funded by

The Victims of Crime project, which ran between May 2018 and April 2019, used the power of sport to engage and support young victims of crime, to help them better cope and recover from their experiences.

The project supported people who were:

  • Victims of crime who had never reported the offence against them
  • Children and young people at risk of becoming victims of crime
  • Children and young people that lived in the most deprived areas of Birmingham

The project, which was based on consultations carried out by Academy staff in early 2018 (with club members, young people who attended our alternative education service and school managers), showed that the project was clearly needed. These consultations showed that:

  • 64% of young people that completed the questionnaire had been the victim of crime
  • 81% of the victims had not reported the crime to the Police or sought any support
  • Crimes committed against young people included serious crimes such as street robbery, assault, gang crime, knife crime and sexual assault

We also consulted a 2017 Victim Support report which analysed the effects experienced by victims of crime.

The programme was divided into 12-week courses based on rehabilitation, enabling participants to gain confidence and become more socially integrated after each course. Intervention mechanisms included group, one-to-one, after school sessions and community outreach at various cultural and faith events.

Each course used innovative methods to work on a range of issues, including developing self-confidence, anger management, personal safety, self-defence, conflict resolution, and building self-esteem.

Outcomes

  • The project enabled 264 young people to benefit
  • 87% completed the 12-week programme
  • 91% responded they benefited in some way
  • 39% of those that completed the programme continued on another programme at PBBA

Further figures from PBBA research:

61% of victims were affected by a crime psychologically or personally. Some of the most common problems reported by victims following the crime were anxiety (22%), loss of confidence (21%), safety concerns (21%), insomnia (19%), crying (16%), reduced social life (14%), fear or anger (13%) and financial hardship (11%). In 10% of incidents the crime impacted on the victims’ family and in more than a fifth of cases (22%) victims changed their daily routines as a direct result of the crime.