Victim Support

The following pages explore the needs of Jeremy Bamber in the immediate aftermath of the tragedies in 1985. This is developed from a model published in the 2006: In the Aftermath (ITA), is a research report, published by ‘Victim Support’. They offer support to the needs of people bereaved by homicide.

The review comprised of an assessment of the current evidence of the impact of people bereaved by homicide and their support needs. The objective of the review was to develop the framework for the victim support learning programme Supporting People Bereaved by Homicide.

The research involved interviewing people bereaved by homicide, and understanding more about their experiences of homicide as well as finding out their feelings about the existing Victim Support service. The results were assessed in conjunction with relevant academic work.

The Report consisted of the following dimensions: -

· A review of current evidence on the impact of bereavement by homicide and the support needs of people bereaved in this way.

· A map of existing national services to people bereaved by homicide.

· Findings from interviews with people who have been bereaved by homicide.

· Findings from focus groups of Victim Support staff and volunteers; Probation Service; Victim Liaison officers (VLO’s); and Police Family Liaison officers (FLO’s.)

This qualitative evidence gives a summary of the findings and this article is a comparative study, applying those findings into a model with the dimensions of bereavement listed as headings. In 1985 ‘Victim Support’ was only 11 years old and its infrastructure under developed by comparison with todays measures.[1]

This research has been specifically geared towards contextualising the highly unusual tragedy at White House Farm with the objective of understanding the subsequent trauma suffered by Jeremy Bamber in the immediate aftermath of the tragedies.