The visit to Scotland on Tuesday, July 17, by our President, HRH The Princess Royal, marked the final transition to One Charity.

The Princess praised Victim Support Scotland for the seemingly seamless progress made since formal approval for the change was given at the 2006 annual general meeting, and for meeting the transition date of July 1, 2007.

The 30 area committees of VSS, which were all charities in their own right, have been merged into a single organisation, although local committees will continue to champion the charity’s cause in their areas.

The Princess, speaking in the City Chambers, Glasgow, to 150 staff, volunteers and guests from partnership agencies, noted that Victim Support England & Wales had now determined to follow our example.

She reiterated her belief that the real strength of VSS was its commitment to the victims and witnesses of crime and the tremendous importance to the charity of its skilled staff and dedicated volunteers.

Ron Daniel, chairman, also stressed the importance of volunteers to the organisation, and hoped to see the organisation strive to develop its relationship with local area committees, its “peoples’ champions”

David McKenna, Chief Executive, said that having achieved the change his sights were firmly set on building on the organisation’s key strengths and rising to the challenges of further improving services to the victims and witnesses of crime.

Valerie Macniven, Head of the Scottish Executive’s Criminal Justice Directorate, said she was delighted to be able to convey the government’s acknowledgement of a successful transition. She emphasised the central role which Victim Support played, and would continue to play, in criminal justice in Scotland.

The Princess Royal went on to announce that Victim Support Scotland and Bank of Scotland Corporate are launching a national Public Speaking competition in Scottish schools with a £10,000 prize for the winning school.

The joint venture is designed to encourage school pupils to debate the issues of criminal justice in Scotland, and in particular youth crime and the damaging effects it can have on the lives of young offenders and their victims and families.

In year one six schools in seven regions will be selected by the relevant director of education to participate in the competition.
The schools will receive a literature pack on the work of the sponsors. Posters outlining VSS’s work and contact numbers will be produced for display within schools. In each school a class project will be initiated to discover pupils’ views on the topic and two pupils will be selected to make an oral presentation.

There will be seven regional competitions. The winning pupils will each receive an engraved medal marking their success and will advance to a national final.

The project fits within the Scottish Executive’s Curriculum for Excellence and has the support of the Society of Directors of Education in Scotland.

The project has run in South Lanarkshire for a number of years and last year was expanded to Glasgow schools.

The winners of the regional finals will receive medals, with a shield for their school. The winning school at national level will receive a cheque for £10,000 and the successful pupils will receive shields.

In the second year of the event is will cover all Scottish education regions.

David McKenna said he believed the initiative would further the charity’s efforts to discourage youth crime and to make everyone aware, regardless of age, of how damaging it could be in terms of not only the victims but also those who committed offences.
He added: “On the very day that our President marked the significance of our transition to a single charity it seemed the perfect time to launch a national initiative to further alert school pupils to the dangers of youth crime, and to promote a better understanding of criminal justice issues in Scotland.”        

Ty Jones, Head of Corporate Responsibility for Bank of Scotland Corporate said:  “This initiative is a very positive way to encourage our young people to engage in dialogue about the problems of youth crime and anti-social behaviour. The spoken word is a powerful tool with which to humanise the impact of what is now regarded as one of the most pressing social issues of our time, and can do so in a way that statistics may sometimes fail to convey”.