This article is from page 2 of the 2008-06-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
Since the start of the year, just 10 victims of crime in the county have contacted the national Crime Vic- tims Helpline. This is less than one a fortnight and its co-ordinator is putting the low number down to lack of awareness.
The helpline is funded by the De- partment of Justice and is open to those directly affected by crime. The co-ordinator of the service said the figure for Clare is particularly low
when compared with other parts of the country.
“Mostly we would have more than that,’ said Maeve Ryan, “but it is really difficult to get everybody to know about it. If there was more awareness, there would be more call- ers. When somebody reports a crime, the guards send out a letter and our details are contained on that letter,” she said.
While the service answers calls relating to burglaries and break-ins, the main correspondence relates to more serious crime perpetrated on the individual.
“Our calls would be mostly to do with assaults and also domestic vio-
lence,’ she said.
Crime Victims Helpline gives call- ers various options after making the initial contact.
“We offer support and information to those who phone us. We act as a referral point, in that we put people in touch with specialist support, de- pending on what the caller wants,” she said.
“If a caller wants local support, we put them in touch with a local serv- ice. If a caller has questions about garda investigations or procedures, we can give them information on that and put him/her in contact with the court’s support service. For people not familiar with the justice system,
it is bewildering. They often feel traumatised and very vulnerable at that stage,” said Ms Ryan.
This is particularly relevant when callers wish to speak to someone face-to-face as Crime Victims Hel- pline is a phone service only.
She is encouraging victims of every type of crime to contact the helpline on 1850 211 407.
“If people have queries or are feel- ing the after-effects of dealing with crime, they should contact us. Crime creates turmoil and confusion for people. People can be very affected. Fear is a huge thing. It is important to talk about it and be reassured,’ she added.