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: BLOG

  • Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner welcomes White Ribbon Day (25th November 2014)

    Vera Baird QC, Northumbria’s Police & Crime Commissioner welcomes 2014 White Ribbon Day and calls on men across the North East to take a stand against domestic violence as part of International White Ribbon Day.

     White Ribbon Day is inspired by the White Ribbon Pledge lead by men who campaign to stop domestic violence against women.  They believe that men need to take a share of the responsibility of putting an end to domestic violence against women.

     Vera Baird hopes men across the region will support White Ribbon Day by wearing their ribbon.

     Mrs Baird said: “Wearing a white ribbon shows that men are saying loud and clear that they will never condone, take part in or remain silent about domestic abuse against women.  To stop domestic abuse and violence we all have to take a share of the responsibility in putting an end to it.\”

     Supporting White Ribbon Day is local Member of Parliament Nick Brown. Mr Brown said: “Everyone in public life should take a stand against domestic violence. Bullying is unacceptable. Victims should be able to approach the police confident that those in authority will take the issue seriously.”

     Mrs Baird added: “Quite simply domestic violence is unacceptable and we will continue to do everything within our powers to put an end to it”.  But we can only do this if we all work together – this includes, men, women, businesses and charities.\”

     Vera Baird has worked closely with Ron Hogg (PCC Durham) and Barry Coppinger (PCC Cleveland) to develop a North East regional strategy to ensure all victims can expect the same level of service from the police, no matter where they live. Next month the Commissioners will be marking one year of the regional strategy, looking at successes during 2014 and plans for the year ahead. 

     

    Mrs Baird concluded: “I will continue to ensure that Northumbria Police and its partners do everything they can to tackle domestic violence.  The effects of domestic abuse affect many people – the victims, children, family members and even employers.  I hope that White Ribbon Day shows local people that they have a role to play in tackling domestic abuse.  Let’s no longer allow it to be the silent crime and give victims the voice to report it.”

    Across the Northumbria Force region there are a number of services available to support victims. 

     

    Vera Baird will be speaking at Gateshead’s White Ribbon Day event on Friday 28th November 2014 that is being hosted at Caedmon Hall, Gateshead Library, Prince Consort Road in Gateshead between 11am and 3pm.

     

  • Restorative Justice – Making A Difference in Northumbria

    Restorative Justice really does make a difference – here is a story from the Evening Chronicle about how it made a difference to two ladies in Whitley Bay. 

     

     

  • Vera Baird welcomes visa ban

    Vera Baird welcomes visa ban

    Vera Baird has welcomed the news that US self-styled ‘dating coach’ Julien Blanc has been denied a visa to visit the UK.

    The Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner said she was delighted Blanc, whose proposed visit had led to a petition of more than 150,000 names being sent to Home Secretary Theresa May calling on his visa to be refused, would not be coming to the UK.

    Blanc, who hit the headlines because of his history of inciting violence against women, has held ‘dating seminars’ suggesting men use harassment and abuse tactics to attract women and has been widely criticised for his sexist, racist and criminal approaches to women.

    Earlier this year he cut short his Australian tour and had his visa cancelled when he left the country.

    Vera Baird, who with her fellow north east Commissioners launched a joint Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, said the right decision had been taken to deny Blanc a visa.

    “I’m pleased the Home Office took this decisive action to prevent him from entering this country and I am pleased common sense has prevailed.

    “As a lifelong campaigner against violence against women and girls, I was appalled that he was going to be allowed into this country to share his negative and violent views.

    “This decision will send the right message out not only to people suffering from sexual and domestic violence but the wider public in this country.”

    Since Mrs Baird became Commissioner two years ago she has worked extensively to prevent sexual and domestic violence and it is one of the priorities of her Police and Crime Plan.

  • Northumbria receiving national recognition

    Special mention was made of the work being undertaken by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird by the Home Secretary Theresa May at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ Annual Conference in Harrogate.

    Mrs May was recognising the work of Commissioners from across England and Wales when she made special mention of the Northumbria Commissioner.

    The Home Secretary was talking about engaging with local communities and recognised that Commissioners such as Mrs Baird had raised the profile of the role and shown that they could make a difference.

    She said: “As Vera Baird, the Police and Crime Commissioner in Northumbria, has said: ‘My post bag and the hundreds of meetings I go to make clear the public is now well aware of the presence of commissioners and very interested to hear about them and hold them to account.’”

    Mrs Baird added: “When I was elected, I promised to keep in touch with local residents by attending meetings and events and by being accessible – this is exactly what I have done and will continue to do. The mail that comes into my office far exceeds anything the Police Authority received.  It’s good that local residents see me as being accessible and a voice for them in ensuring Northumbria Police is delivering for local communities.”

    The Home Secretary also recognised that Police and Crime Commissioners can be innovative and forward thinking, saying: “In Northumbria, Vera Baird’s work has led to the creation of 165 Domestic and Sexual Violence Champions in workplaces, clubs and public spaces, among other important initiatives.”

    Mrs Baird added: “We will continue to drive change and implement changes that will make a difference to serious issues.  As Police and Crime Commissioner I have the ability to bring partners together to address issues and drive forward change – this has happened with the Vulnerability Training and the workplace Champions strategy.”

    As we head towards a General Election, all parties have put forward different ways of dealing with police governance.

    Vera Baird said: “It’s vitally important that police governance engages with the public and that they have a voice.  The Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is right to have this discussion, to learn what has gone well since the creation of PCCs and to ensure that the public continue to be fully engaged and have confidence in police governance and that police officers continue to serve the communities they work in.”

  • 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.”

  • Putting Victims First

    Commissioners put victims first

    Police and crime commissioners across England and Wales are championing the rights of victims, having recently taken on responsibility for commissioning services to support them in the aftermath of a crime against them.

    From implementing innovative and integrated local services, to seeking the wider public’s views on how offenders of anti-social behaviour should be dealt with, PCCs are now at the forefront of helping victims to cope and recover.

    Funding for support services for victims is passing from the Ministry of Justice to police and crime commissioners enabling a far more locally driven provision for victims of crime to be created. Some areas went live with the new arrangements in October, while others will follow by April next year.

    Community Remedy was also launched in October, giving victims of certain types of crime and anti-social behaviour a say in the out of court punishment of offenders. Police and crime commissioners consulted extensively with the public before they agreed on the list of local ‘options’ to choose from.

    Chair of the APCC’s Supporting Victims and Reducing Harm Standing Group Vera Baird is the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Northumbria Police region which goes live in April 2015.

    She said: “This puts the victim at the centre of the service they receive and will ensure consistency across the board so no matter where people live they receive a good service which leaves them with a positive experience.

    “I am delighted commissioners across the country are now at the forefront of helping victims recover from their upsetting experiences and putting them at the centre of our efforts.”

    Today’s Partnership Summit will hear more about how victims can be better supported in the aftermath of a crime against them, but it will also hear about preventing them becoming victims in the first place by reducing re-offending. Workshop sessions on Day 2 of the Summit coincide with Restorative Justice Week.

  • 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.