Vera Baird DBE KC

Chair Criminal Cases Review Commission. Member Women’s Justice Bd.
Ex Victims’ Commissioner, Solicitor Gen & PCC. Fellow St Hilda’s Oxford. Writer. Labour Party

Category: ARTICLES

  • Commissioner joins call to ban controversial US figure

    Vera Baird is backing the Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s call to prevent a US self-styled ‘dating coach’ from coming to the UK.

    Julien Blanc, who has hit the headlines because of his history of inciting violence against women, is due to come to London on November 27 and then again in March and April next year.

    His ‘dating seminars’ have suggested men use harassment and abuse tactics to attract women and has been widely criticised for his sexist, racist and criminal approaches to women.

    A petition launched earlier this month now has more than 150,000 signatures and is calling on Home Secretary Theresa May to deny him a visa to come to the UK.

    Earlier this year Blanc ended an Australian tour early and his visa was cancelled when he left the country.

    The Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, who last year launched a joint Violence Against Women and Girls strategy with her fellow north eastern Commissioners, said she was appalled that it was even being considered for Blanc to be allowed into the UK.

    “I’m a lifelong campaigner against violence against women and girls and everything he stands for is abhorrent to the values I hold,” the Commissioner said.

    “I hope the Home Office takes swift and decisive action to prevent him from entering this country and I am pleased to see so many people have, like me, signed this petition against Blanc’s planned visits.

    “Since becoming Commissioner two years ago I’ve worked extensively to prevent sexual and domestic violence which is one of the priorities of my Police and Crime Plan.

    “I know the misery and suffering this violence causes in our region and nationwide and the impact it has on people and those around them and how it can ultimately lead to people dying.

    “We should not give people a platform for promoting these negative and violent messages.”

  • National Restorative Justice Week

    Focus must be on victim says Commissioner

    This week marks National Restorative Justice Week and here in the Northumbria Police region victims are being put at the heart of this work.

    Leading this focus is the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird who is looking at all the services provided to victims of crime to ensure no matter where a person lives in the force area they get the same positive service.

    Restorative Justice is not new to the region and was first introduced in the early 2000s.

    In the past two weeks the Commissioner has held a workshop which brought together organisations working with both youth and adult offenders and with victims.

    The work carried out can include face-to-face meetings, community remedies and community payback – different ways of ensuring the victim is helped to recover from their experience while helping the perpetrator understand what they have done.

    It can involve the perpetrator repairing the damage they have caused at the victim’s home or working in the community and meeting with their victim.

    The Commissioner takes over funding for support services for victims from the Ministry of Justice in April next year as part of a nationwide move.

    Vera Baird said she was looking forward to taking over supporting victims which is already a priority of her Police and Crime Plan.

    She added: “Putting victims first is a very important priority of my plan and one which I continue to take forward.

    “I’m fully aware of the impact of being a victim of crime and want to support people to restore their confidence and in turn the confidence enjoyed by our communities.

    “I’ve made vulnerable victims of crime and those affected by anti-social behaviour an important part of my plan which aims to keep victims fully informed about their investigation.

    “Having responsibility for victims in our region is a chance to bring together all the organisations providing vital services to these people when they need help and putting them at the centre of a process where the perpetrator is helped to understand the impact they have had on their victim’s lives.

    “I’m looking forward to working with these organisations and driving forward the service provided to all our communities.”

    Simon Smart, Restorative Justice Co-ordinator at the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “These organisations offer different things to different people at different stages.

    “Our aim is to continue the drive to bring all this work together so no matter where you live in the Northumbria force area you have access to the best service for you.

    “It is not a legal or monetary approach but about aligning the various services.”

    Presently a victim could be contacted several times by the various organisations in place to support them.

    “Each time the victim has to relive their experience which is of no benefit and only leads to re-victimisation,” Mr Smart said, adding: “It’s all about the benefits for the victim and putting them fairly and squarely at the centre of what is done.”

    Restorative Justice Week runs from November 16 to 23.

  • Deep Coal – Deep Community

    ‘Deep Coal Deep Community – 30 years on from the Miners’ Strike’

    Memories of the Miners’ Strike of 30 years ago were brought to life with words and song at the opening of an exhibition at St Thomas the Martyr Church in Newcastle.

    And the event combined with the opening of the Herman Schier Vestry by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird.

    This is a newly renovated and very attractive meeting room in the church named in memory of 25-year-old Herman Schier who died during the 1882 Trimdon Grange Colliery disaster which claimed 74 lives.

    He is commemorated in the church on a brass plaque which has been hidden from view for many years and presumed to have been given by his parents who lived and worked in Newcastle. Mr Schier was overcome with gas as he led a rescue party from a neighbouring pit.

    Running underneath the church is the Victoria Tunnel which used to carry coal from a pit at Spital Tongues to the River Tyne.

    Jonathan Adams of St Thomas’ Church said: “Coal is part of our history and we’ve only recently discovered a memorial to Herman Schier here in one of our two church vestries, which is also used as a meeting room, and thought this would be a fitting tribute.”

    ‘Deep Coal Deep Community – 30 years on from the Miners’ Strike’ is an exhibition using photos, miners’ banners and words to remember the bitter miners’ strike of 1984/85.

    It followed an announcement by the National Coal Board to close 20 pits with the loss of 20,000 jobs and Arthur Scargill’s call for a national strike.

    The dispute brought pickets and police into dispute, with violent confrontations including the ‘Battle of Orgreave’ in June 1984.

    While the strike divided opinion and communities it did bring support, particularly from the women in the affected communities.

    When the strike came to an end, a year after it started, the miners returned to work behind colliery bands and lodge banners and alongside the women and children who had given them great support.

    The event at the well known Newcastle church in Newcastle’s Haymarket was opened by the Dunston Silver Band and featured music and films about Orgreave.

    Other guest speakers included Ian Lavery MP and Durham Miners’ Association General Secretary Dave Hopper.

    Mr Lavery said: “The significance of the miners’ strike of 1984/85 is now firmly etched into the industrial and political history of Britain and, of course, our great region.

    “Only now the real truth is coming to the fore. Recently released Government cabinet papers now clearly show that the dispute was unmistakably political and not industrial but based on an ideology to attack the trade union movement beginning with the mining communities.

    “Coal will continue to fuel the world’s economies yet despite our substantial indigenous reserves we have only three working collieries left in the UK and none in the north east. What an absolute disgrace it is that globally coal consumption and production continues to rise and we as a nation import more coal than we produce.”

    Mr Hopper said: “The Durham Miners’ Association is pleased to be associated with this event which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the historic miners strike to protect our jobs, industry and communities.

    “The event has tremendous significance for us as it recognises the sacrifice of Herman Schier who led a rescue party in an attempt to save lives following the explosion at Trimdon Grange Colliery in 1882, a disaster made famous in the Tommy Armstrong folk classic ‘The Trimdon Grange Explosion’ which was sung at the event.

    “The coalfields were all too familiar with death and explosions and this year also sees the centenary of the Great War where thousands of coal miners paid the ultimate price. Miners were far from ‘The Enemy Within’.”

    “We welcome events of this nature as we still today, some 30 years on, campaign for the truth and justice which was taken away in 1984/85.”

    Commissioner Vera Baird, who researched the Schier connection to the church and is a congregation member at St Thomas’, added: “I was delighted to take part in this event.

    “Not only is this church very close to my heart but I was closely involved in the miner’s strike of 1984/85 representing many miners for over a year of court cases during the strike and acting for three of the 15 pickets who were put on trial following the mass arrests at Orgreave.

    “I know from first hand experience the impact this year-long dispute had on individuals and communities and this exhibition helps provide a snapshot of this time and the affect it had, even now 30 years on.”

    The exhibition includes mining banners together with photos and text looking at the call to strike; the closures and loss of jobs, the bitter disputes; the mass meetings; the women’s support groups and the return of the miners – beaten but still with their pride.

    The free exhibition, which is sponsored by the Durham Miners’ Association, will run from 17 November to 13 December, Monday to Saturday, from 10am to 4pm each day.

  • Panorama’s “Fake Sheikh” Documentary

    Read the Guardian’s review about the Panorama programme which was aired last night.

    Let me know what you think of the views given (including mine).

  • PRESS RELEASE: Commissioner Baird celebrates Living Wage Week.

     

    \"Commissioner

    Commissioner joins the celebrations for Living Wage week

    Northumbria Police is joining in with the Living Wage celebrations this week after almost a year as an official Living Wage employer.

    Living Wage week, which this year runs from November 2 to 8, will again celebrate Living Wage employers and the employees who benefit.

    The Living Wage is different to the minimum wage and is based on the amount someone needs to earn to cover the basic cost of living.

    Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird said: \”I\’m delighted the force is now able to join the celebrations of this unique club which has widespread political and business support.

    \”As the force celebrates being an official Living Wage employer for nearly a year, I\’ve been able to see first hand the difference implementing this policy has made.”

    There are now around 750 employers accredited by the Living Wage Foundation, committing them to pay the Living Wage to employed and subcontracted staff and the Commissioner added: \”I\’m delighted Northumbria Police is an official Living Wage employer.\”

    When the cleaners, who in the past were sub-contacted to Northumbria Police, were brought in house they received an extra £1.15 an hour – for an average contract of 20 hours a week.

    \”This is an extra £100 a month in the pay packet and shows how we value all our employees and the work they do and that everyone is part of \’Team Northumbria\’,\” Vera Baird said.

    She added: \”I\’ve always been an advocate of the Living Wage and as we’re in Living Wage Week, it’s now a good time to encourage other employers to come on board.  

    \”In the current economic climate we must do everything we can to help those on the minimum wage. If you value people, you have to show it and I believe that giving a decent wage is important.

    \”Currently 5.2 million people in the UK are paid less than the Living Wage with women and young people disproportionately affected.

    \”Living Wage week is an ideal time for other businesses to sign up – it\’s morally right and makes good business sense too.

    \”I\’m confident this time next year even more north east businesses will be accredited as Living Wage employers.\”

    The photograph shows Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird with one of the force cleaners Derek Bellis at Forth Banks.

  • Human Rights Act – My view

    The Human Rights Act is badly needed – and we have ample proof.

    Read my article about Human Rights in the Journal

  • Stormont decision welcomed by Northumbria Commissioner


    Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has welcomed the decision of Stormont assembly members to start the legislative process to ban paying for sex.

    In the UK, selling or buying sex is not currently illegal.

    However, it is illegal to buy sex from someone who is controlled for another person’s gain; other illegal activities including loitering and soliciting for prostitution; kerb crawling; keeping a brothel and placing an advert for prostitution within the vicinity of a public telephone box.

    Northern Ireland has now started the process that paying for sex becomes illegal.

    Discussions went on until late into the night and the Bill is aimed at amending Northern Ireland’s laws on trafficking and prostitution.

    Currently, when it comes to prosecution it is the prostitute who is more likely to be prosecuted rather than the person paying for sex.

    Government figures for 2002 show there were 2,678 convictions for soliciting in comparison to only 993 convictions for kerb crawling.

    Vera Baird said: “I congratulate the members of Stormont Assembly for leading the way in further ensuring the protection and safety of women.

    “By following the Nordic model, consumers rather than workers in the sex trade are targeted.

    “Many of these women often have very troubled backgrounds and research shows that up to 70% of those in street prostitution have a history of local authority care and up to 75% have been physically assaulted at the hands of pimps and punters.

    “The introduction of this Bill will ensure these women are safer.”

    The clause was passed, during the Bill’s consideration stage, by 81 to 10 votes. It still has to go through the legislative process but, as such a large number of members supported the Bill, it is likely to become law.

    Mrs Baird said: “Stormont has spoken loud and clear on members’ wishes to further protect women and I welcome the strong commitment from across the assembly to support the legislation. We must follow suit in the rest of the UK as quickly as possible.”

    There was opposition to the Bill from a minority of members, including Stormont’s Justice Minister David Ford who saw no evidence to prove that this legislation would reduce the incidence of trafficking.

    Mrs Baird said: “One of the most common forms of trafficking and slavery is using women for prostitution, enticing them when they are at their lowest ebb with promises of money and security. Yet prostitution puts the women in a very dangerous position.

    “In 2006, it was found that people are much less likely to be convicted of murdering a prostitute than any other kind of murder. The murder conviction rate stands at 75% but drops to 26% when it comes to the killings of women in prostitution.”

    She added: “We all have a duty to support these women to ensure they can enjoy a life away from fear and intimidation.”

  • PRESS RELEASE: Commissioner demands Government takes urgent action.

    Commissioner demands Government takes urgent action

    New Government powers to tackle anti-social behaviour must be supported with extra funding, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has said.

    The Government has introduced five new powers which have come in to effect today, which the Government believe will enable the police, local authorities and others to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour (ASB) as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB), Crime and Policing Act 2014.

    Northumbria Police has worked closely with partners to ensure the smooth implementation of the powers and the Commissioner’s office has consulted on the community remedy list with the public in Northumbria who clearly favour the following two options:

    Educational or rehabilitative activities                                           20% of respondents

    Unpaid work within the community                                                  21% of respondents

    For these options to be effective, they need funding. The Government cannot rely on the police and Local Authorities to pick up this cost.

    Since 2010, the Northumbria Police budget has been cut by nearly £70m and local authorities have faced similar pressures. Local authority ASB leads have said they are concerned about the cost implications brought by Community Remedy with no additional funding provided for the options to provide structured activities or activities which put something back into the community.

    The Commissioner Vera Baird said: \”Like everything this Government does, changes are rushed through and no extra funding provided to ensure the transition is successful.

    \”Most of the remedies need resources to ensure their success and the Government should be funding this initiative as it’s important local residents and police officers have confidence in the system they’re working with.\”

    The Commissioner has called on the Justice Secretary to convene an urgent meeting with colleagues in Parliament to secure the extra funding needed to pay for this initiative.

    \”Northumbria Police continue to tackle ASB head-on – but if the Government wants this new scheme to work, they need to fund it,\” Mrs Baird added.

  • Is this Government Serious about protecting victims?

    Is this Government serious about protecting victims? – Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird

    This week Justice Secretary Chris Grayling MP provided the House of Commons with further information about the Government\’s document \’Our Commitment to Victims\’.

    In a Written Ministerial Statement Mr Grayling believes the proposed laws will see victims kept informed about their case and courts will allow most to provide a personal impact statement. 

    Vera Baird said: \”What the Justice Secretary has announced is a few add ons to the Victims\’ Code – but nothing of real substance.

    \”A lot of what is mentioned in the Written Ministerial Statement is already happening, an example being that victim impact statements will become law, however they have already proved their worth without legislation. We saw the benefits of impact statements in the Rolf Harris case. These statements allow the courts to know how victims have been affected by a crime and for the perpetrator to hear how their actions can ruin lives.\”

    Mrs Baird added: \”Let’s be absolutely clear, Chris Grayling is the Secretary of State who has cut compensation to victims to the bone and scrapped legal aid for victims of sexual and domestic abuse.

    \”It\’s a shocking indictment of this Government’s policies for victims that two-thirds of domestic violence victims have been left with no legal aid to safeguard families against violent partners.  This is a Government that tells us they take seriously the need to address domestic violence – then they remove the very support that is needed.\”

    The Government has published updates and provided further information, but they have avoided the question about why they implemented cuts to the Criminal Justice Compensation Board.

    \”Let us be under no illusion, as Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan recently said, the Government has let victims down by cutting compensation for innocent victims of violent crime and leaving the position of Victims’ Commissioner vacant for almost a year, before making the role part time,\” the Commissioner said. 

    \”Downing Street does not speak up for victims of crime. David Cameron wanted to reduce prison sentences by half if criminals entered a guilty plea, they have closed refuges and cut resources for Victim Support. 

    \”The Labour Party continues to work with organisations that support victims to ensure the right support, at the right time, is in place. The next Labour Government will implement a strategy that keeps victims at the heart of all decisions which is the right way forward – not add ons and bolt ons to existing legislation as the current Government is doing.\”

    Putting victims first is a commitment Vera Baird has given in her Police and Crime Plan for residents of Northumbria and from April 2015 responsibility for some victims\’ services will fall to Police and Crime Commissioners.

    Vera Baird has consulted on an outline strategy and is mapping the need for services. Through working with local authorities and other responsible partners she will devise a final joint strategy ensuring local services for victims are the best that can be jointly provided.

    \”Victims will always be at the centre of the criminal justice system in our region,\” she said.

  • Action Needed To Tackle True Cost Of Alcohol.

    As alcohol-related NHS admissions hit almost 10 million in England, Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird has again called for action to be taken in stemming the consumption of alcohol.

    Already this year Mrs Baird, together with fellow north east Police and Crime Commissioners Ron Hogg from Durham and Cleveland’s Barry Coppinger, have written of their concerns over the direct link between cheap alcohol and crime and disorder.

    The three Commissioners had called on the Government to introduce minimum pricing. Research had shown that by doing this, alcohol related crimes would reduce by thousands each year leading to an improvement in public safety and confidence as well as reducing the health impact of excessive alcohol consumption.

    Almost half of violent crimes are linked to alcohol and a survey of north east frontline police officers showed how nearly all questioned could not remember the last time they had been called to a domestic abuse incident where alcohol wasn’t involved.

    Today Alcohol Concern has updated its Alcohol Harm Map which shows that six out of every ten alcohol-related hospital visits were A&E admissions as well as almost two-thirds of the cost of inpatient admissions.

    The cost of inpatient admissions partly attributable to alcohol was said to be £1.3bn.

    “This growing reliance on alcohol is proving both costly to people’s health as well as the financial costs of health care providers,” the Commissioner said.

    “Add to this the cost alcohol consumption has on crime and disorder, not just in monetary terms for people and businesses but in its affect on the confidence of our communities, and we are looking at a worrying situation,“ Mrs Baird added.

    The Commissioner has also worked extensively in protecting people who become vulnerable while out in the region’s thriving night time economy and has introduced a raft of measures to help keep people safe.

    “I’ve introduced vulnerability training locally for door staff, which now happens nationally, and know through the feedback we’ve had that this is making a real difference.

    “This training is also being given to others working in the night time economy as well as partner agencies like local authorities, so now we have many more eyes and ears looking out for those who become vulnerable and need help to get home safely or be reunited with their friends and family.”

    Mrs Baird added: “The costs we are now seeing to various public services points to a very real need for actions to be taken to help people and alleviate the strain being placed on an already over-stretched public purse.”