Avon and Somerset OPCC Lighthouse Safeguarding Hub Review
Task
Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were given responsibility for locally commissioning victim support services in 2014. Many PCCs chose to continue commissioning external victim support organisations, while others opted to reinvent the service offer and bring delivery staff into the local constabulary. There was no uniformed approach to creating these ‘in-house’ Victim Hubs – some opted to solely offer support to victims of crime and others decided to merge the already established Witness Care Units to form one Victim and Witness Hub. The latter provide support at the time of the incident and throughout the criminal justice process.
The Office for the Police Crime Commissioner (OPCC) in Avon and Somerset commissioned TONIC to review their equivalent of a Victim and Witness Hub known as the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit. TONIC were asked to explore how the pre-charge, victim care element of the service has changed in structure and purpose overtime. The aim of the review was to explore whether or not the current service provision is fit for purpose, examine the extent to which staff are adhering to the Victims’ Code of Practice, consider what is working well as well as potential areas for improvement, consider the effectiveness of the existing management / governance structure, and make recommendations about the future model. This was conducted as a follow-on review from TONIC’s recently completed Victims’ Needs Assessment (2023) and Victims' Voice Project (2024), as well as sitting alongside the recommissioning process of local victim support services.
Our Approach
The service review utilised a mixed-methods approach that included a two-month period of fieldwork to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. The primary method of data collection was semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with staff from Lighthouse, the OPCC, Constabulary, commissioned service providers, as well as victims who had received service support from the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit. Additionally, any relevant feedback received regarding the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit during the Victims’ Needs Assessment (2023) and Victims’ Voice Project (2024) was considered within the qualitative data analysis. Alongside this, the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit provided internal information, including case handling protocols, referral patterns and victim feedback to further inform the qualitative analysis. Quantitative service activity data was also shared by the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit and summarised during the service review to provide an overview of service delivery.
Descriptive statistics were produced to summarise the quantitative service activity data. To analyse the qualitative data, TONIC researchers used Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step method of Thematic Analysis. Within this framework, TONIC used an inductive method, whereby themes were derived and grounded in the text (transcripts), rather than being imposed on the data from a pre-existing theory or hypothesis.
Outcome
Presentation – The findings and recommended areas for service improvement were firstly presented to the OPCC in a co-production workshop. Later, the findings and recommendations were presented to the Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit management team, providing an opportunity to clarify any points raised and a question-and-answer session prior to them receiving the full report.
Report – TONIC produced a detailed report of the review findings, highlighting best practice, areas for improvement, and recommendations. Whilst maintaining a strategic focus, the report also considered the inner workings of the hub, service evaluation, partnership working, adherence to the Victims’ Code of Practice and the importance of collaboration with the OPCC. As a result, the report conclusion contained both strategic and operational recommendations for both the OPCC and Lighthouse Safeguarding Unit staff to consider.