Thames Valley Partnership
“protecting victims, supporting offenders and their families”
The Thames Valley Partnership works in partnership with the statutory, private and voluntary sectors to provide long-term sustainable solutions to the problems of crime and social exclusion. We work to protect victims and reintegrate offenders. Our strength is in collaborative working and integrated approaches across sectors, particularly linking Criminal Justice services to voluntary sector and Local Authority providers.
Our broad spectrum of work includes programmes around the needs of families of offenders, work in the field of domestic abuse, support for victims, restorative justice, community cohesion, mental health issues, early interventions & initiatives around young people and arts related projects.
Find out more about the different aspects of Our Work.
News
PCC announces contract for a new Adult Specialist Service
Following a commissioning process conducted by the Office of the PCC for Thames Valley, the Partnership is delighted to have been selected to deliver a new Specialist Service for Adult Victims. The new service, which will start in April 2020, will provide tailored support to meet the individual needs of victims who have higher level, or longer term support needs and could include trauma-informed interventions in individual or group settings, advocacy support including help to access mental health or drug and alcohol services, restorative justice conferencing, as well as practical and emotional support to navigate the criminal justice process.
The Partnership will work closely with Oxford Sexual Assault and Rape Crisis Centre (OSARCC) and Trusthouse Reading to deliver the service involving co-located teams; bringing professionals with different specialisms together.
“We are delighted to have this opportunity to be involved with the new Adult Specialist Service, working with the other partner agencies to offer a more encompassing and holistic approach to the needs of the victim. We already have a long-standing working relationship with the PCC for Thames Valley and the new service will now enable us to offer the best possible support to victims, to help them deal with, and recover from, the trauma of their experiences.” Nikki Ross, Chief Executive of Partnership
A new Chief Executive for the Partnership!
Nikki Ross (left) and outgoing Director, Patsy Townsend – passing over the helm and the office keys!
The Partnership, celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. Established in 1993, we work across Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire delivering a range of support services to those affected by crime or abuse – both victims and offenders and their families – and offering practical and emotional support, crisis intervention, advocacy and mentoring.
2019 is set to be yet another significant year for the Partnership – with the arrival on 2nd September, of a new Chief Executive Officer, Nikki Ross, who takes up the helm from retiring Director Patsy Townsend, who leaves in September after 21 years.
Nikki is no stranger to criminal justice having served in Thames Valley Police for 35 years, most recently Assistant Chief Constable Local Policing, and therefore brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge which will be invaluable. Regarding her new role Nikki commented
” I am delighted to have been appointed as the new CEO for the Partnership. It was important for me to continue to work within the criminal justice system and to continue to be able to support victims and the vulnerable. I have witnessed first-hand over the years the incredible work of the Partnership under the leadership of Patsy Townsend and although she will be a hard act to follow, I hope to do the role justice and continue to develop the relationships with partners and communities. The Partnership is a great team with everyone dedicated to helping others through a variety of programmes of work – an excellent charity to be involved with.”
The Partnership presently delivers six programmes in total, several through trained volunteers, and has earned for itself an enviable reputation and a suite of accreditations for its quality training and service delivery. The restorative justice programme (TVRJS), support for victims of exploitation, human trafficking and modern day slavery (VF Willow Project) and the Victims First Emotional Support Service are currently funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Thames Valley. Other programmes include New Leaf, which offers a through-the-gate mentoring programme for prisoners on their release back into the community, Family Matters which supports troubled families and those affected by the imprisonment of a family member or loved one, and TecSOS which supports victims of domestic abuse.
DIGNITY ON RELEASE – Please support our campaign!
Thank you to everyone who is supporting our Dignity on Release campaign in aid of the Partnership’s New Leaf and Family Matters programmes, which between them, provide support to offenders and their families from sentence to rehabilitation. We are continuing to run our campaign for the foreseeable future, to highlight key issues that undermine prisoners’ ability to successfully return to the community as well as raising funding to ensure the sustainability of the New Leaf project .
