The charity is an independent service that will provide a bespoke service exclusively to support victims of Blue Light employees, meaning it will be easier to be a whistle blower, and it will also support the victims of these crimes.
Victims will be provided with counselling, where required, guidance about collecting evidence if safe to do so and mentoring to encourage them to formally report a crime, but only when they are ready to do so.
Blue Light Whistle Blowers will work with other victim charities and. The Charity will also work closely with Blue Light Organisations but not for Blue Light Organisations, to avoid a conflict of interest.
Victims of Blue Light abuse may often feel that they cannot speak up for fear of reprisal, especially if they work or have a partner employed by one of the three major services, the Police, the Fire Service, and the Ambulance Service. Blue Light Whistle Blowers will support the victims of these crimes and help them prepare for speaking out, but only if and when they are ready to do so.
It is not the intention of the charity to investigate these crimes, it is about providing an effective, trusted mechanism, that is used more than the current processes in place, due to the failings of these processes, as consistently reported by the national media. The charity aims to be the voice of victims and their families and won’t hesitate where necessary to challenge the status quo.
An anonymous hotline will be set up later this year and this will provide a completely confidential channel for the reporting and/or supporting of the victims, which is a service not currently available. Many of the users of the service could be vulnerable and the service will provide ongoing mental health support as part of its portfolio of services.
The charity aim is to hold Chief Constables, Chief Fire Officers, and Ambulance Trusts to account for these crimes and will produce league tables highlighting the best and worst affected services within the country.
The charity is in the process of being registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) with the Charity Commission, the application awaiting final approval. This will allow the charity to employ specially trained staff for the hotline and deliver charitable services under contractual agreements.