University Degree/Work with Victims of Crime
In 1996, I began studying for a Masters of Arts degree in Professional Development at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
My initial research was into the perceived need for Beat Policing in Norfolk and on completion of my work on this subject I was awarded an Advance Certificate in Education. My research also looked at the role of Police Family Liaison Officers.
I followed this by an in-depth look into the affect that the Media has on victims of crime. I am very happy to have my work used for research purposes. It is copyright and should not be reproduced without permission. I am happy, however, to give permission for genuine research purposes. If you wish to quote my work please e-mail me for permission by filling in and sending me the coupon on the home page of this site.
To gain my MA I had to adopt a very different writing style than my usual. I found this very difficult as I was putting forward arguments in a very different style that was alien to the way I usually wrote. Initially my dissertation was in a very different and much more direct style. My tutor told me that he would love to submit it in the format in which it was written but he couldn't guarantee that I would achieve a pass. So I modified and re-wrote it to conform.
Click on the links below to read my university research:
Streetbeat
The Role of Police Family Liaison Officers
Victims and the Media Part One
Victims and the Media Part Two
My research and work with Victims of Crime was also featured in a number of journals and magazines and below are photocopies of those articles along with transcripts.
My initial research was into the perceived need for Beat Policing in Norfolk and on completion of my work on this subject I was awarded an Advance Certificate in Education. My research also looked at the role of Police Family Liaison Officers.
I followed this by an in-depth look into the affect that the Media has on victims of crime. I am very happy to have my work used for research purposes. It is copyright and should not be reproduced without permission. I am happy, however, to give permission for genuine research purposes. If you wish to quote my work please e-mail me for permission by filling in and sending me the coupon on the home page of this site.
To gain my MA I had to adopt a very different writing style than my usual. I found this very difficult as I was putting forward arguments in a very different style that was alien to the way I usually wrote. Initially my dissertation was in a very different and much more direct style. My tutor told me that he would love to submit it in the format in which it was written but he couldn't guarantee that I would achieve a pass. So I modified and re-wrote it to conform.
Click on the links below to read my university research:
Streetbeat
The Role of Police Family Liaison Officers
Victims and the Media Part One
Victims and the Media Part Two
My research and work with Victims of Crime was also featured in a number of journals and magazines and below are photocopies of those articles along with transcripts.
The Following article appeared in Police Review magazine of 22nd January 1999*
Over the past two years, Norfolk Constabulary Press and Public Relations Officer Peter Steward has been researching into the effect that the Media has on victims of crime as part of a Master of Arts Degree at the University of East Anglia. In this article he looks at the enormous pressures that can be put on victims and discusses the ways in which they cope.
The faces and voices of grieving relatives taking part in Press Conferences following murders has almost become commonplace in this country.
The demands of the Media for news and features has become so great that victims are no longer left to grieve in provate. In high profile murder cases the victims can be turned into "celebrities" with the eyes of the world watching the every move of their families. Television, radio, satellite, newspapers, magazines and computers have an unquenchable thirst for news with output now around the clock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There isn't a minute in the day when the public are not being subjected to news in some format.
Some national newspapers have questioned the justification of police forces putting up victims for press conferences, yet one of the reasons that we do this is beacuse of the enormous clamour and demand of the Media and the need to, in some small way, help shield the victim from any unwelcome public glare.
Some have referred to the practice as "voyeurism." I would refute these claims. Certainly in Norfolk we have never organised a press conference as a means of entertainment or voyeurism, that would be too uncaring to even contemplate.
The decision to take part in Press conferences and undertake Media interviews is always left to the victims themselves. We never put pressure on them although we do make them aware of the intense demands of the Press and the problems they are likely to face if they refuse to take part in interviews.
We must never lose sight of the fact that "victims" are ordinary people suddenly thrust into the limelight through no choice of their own. The "fame" that they receive through Media exposure is not out of choice.
I believe that the Media is the signularly most powerful group in society and that their power will continue to increase until such time as the public's thirst for information abates and people decide that they no longer wish to read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch television and go on-line on their computers. I further argue that this will never happen. New generations are growing up with access to an "information super highway" providing instant information on just about every subject imaginable.
Following a high profile and newsworthy murder, the Norfolk Constabulary press office will make early contact with the victim's family usually through family lisiaon officers or the senior investigating officer. Our service includes advising them on how to deal with the Media and what to expect from them and also supporting them throughout any interviews and press conferences.
Our object is to make the victims as comfortable as possible at a time when they are suffering the kind of heartache that most of us cannot even begin to imagine.
When victims agree to take part in a Press Conference we will talk to them about the room to be used, the set-up and who will be present. The seating arrangements on the top table will be left to them, along with decisions about who they will have supporting them and even the number of journalists they are prepared to have present. We will also organise a set of signals by which they can terminate a press conference at any point if they are feeling unhappy.
We never force victims to answer questions directly and indeed have organised press conferences whereby victims have remained silent whilst a police officer or press officer has read out a statement on their behalf.
The essence of a successful press conference is that the victims feel at the end that it has been of some benefit to them. At all times they must be in control of the event and never made to feel that they are being forced to do anything against their will.
It is our experience over the past six years that relatively few victims refuse to speak to the Press. Many have been happy to deal with the Media and that was really where my research began.
By talking to victims I wanted to find out their reasons for co-operating and why they accepted the limelight. My research surrounded victims who have had close relatives murdered or victims who have suffered serious personal attack. All those I spoke to have been part of high profile crimes in Norfolk over the past six years and I found all were happy to talk about their experiences and reasons.
After many hours of interviews I came up with numerous reasons for co-operating with the Media. Many of these were replicated in more than one case. They included the following:
Above all my research has taught me never to second guess how a victim will react to Media interest and that it is not our function to eitehr talk victims into or out of dealing with the Media. They alone must make that decision and I have found that most make it very quickly.
Only rarely have I come across victims not prepared to talk to the Press in some form or other. In a few cases I have come across, this is due to a previous in-built dislike of the Media or a bad experience at their hands in the past.
I am also convinced from my research that those victims who have either co-operated fully or "put up and dealt with" the attention of the Media have come out considerably less traumatised than those victims who have "turned their backs" and felt the full power of Media intrusion.
Norfolk Constabulary prides itself on its close liaison with victims through its family liaison set-up and also its close working relationship with Victim Support. I am proud to be part of this caring side of policing. We believe that what we do on the Media side can help victims come to terms with the trauma of their situation.
More than anything, however, I feel privileged to have seen at first hand the bravery of thses people. I have also found that what little help we have been able to give has been much appreciated and I have kept in touch with a number of the "victims."
Dealing with victims of murder and serious assualt is a job I would be happy not to have to do. Sadly it is a job that I fear Police Press Officers will be called upon to do with increasing regularity.
One particular victim I am in regular contact with refers to themselves as a member of a very exclusive club, but a club that nobody wants to be a member of.
Likewise I would love to be in a position of not having to be a guest in this mythical club. I would not wish anybody to have to suffer the heartache and trauma that I have seen victims go through.
But the reality is that murders and attacks will continue. More and more victims will be thrust into the limelight. I see it as my duty to help and support victims and hope that on a professional level I can help them to deal with the Media in the way that they wish to.
* - Police Review was a weekly magazine aimed at police officers throughout the United Kingdom. It was published from 1893 to 2011 and ran to over 6,100 issues before it was discontinued.
Over the past two years, Norfolk Constabulary Press and Public Relations Officer Peter Steward has been researching into the effect that the Media has on victims of crime as part of a Master of Arts Degree at the University of East Anglia. In this article he looks at the enormous pressures that can be put on victims and discusses the ways in which they cope.
The faces and voices of grieving relatives taking part in Press Conferences following murders has almost become commonplace in this country.
The demands of the Media for news and features has become so great that victims are no longer left to grieve in provate. In high profile murder cases the victims can be turned into "celebrities" with the eyes of the world watching the every move of their families. Television, radio, satellite, newspapers, magazines and computers have an unquenchable thirst for news with output now around the clock 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There isn't a minute in the day when the public are not being subjected to news in some format.
Some national newspapers have questioned the justification of police forces putting up victims for press conferences, yet one of the reasons that we do this is beacuse of the enormous clamour and demand of the Media and the need to, in some small way, help shield the victim from any unwelcome public glare.
Some have referred to the practice as "voyeurism." I would refute these claims. Certainly in Norfolk we have never organised a press conference as a means of entertainment or voyeurism, that would be too uncaring to even contemplate.
The decision to take part in Press conferences and undertake Media interviews is always left to the victims themselves. We never put pressure on them although we do make them aware of the intense demands of the Press and the problems they are likely to face if they refuse to take part in interviews.
We must never lose sight of the fact that "victims" are ordinary people suddenly thrust into the limelight through no choice of their own. The "fame" that they receive through Media exposure is not out of choice.
I believe that the Media is the signularly most powerful group in society and that their power will continue to increase until such time as the public's thirst for information abates and people decide that they no longer wish to read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch television and go on-line on their computers. I further argue that this will never happen. New generations are growing up with access to an "information super highway" providing instant information on just about every subject imaginable.
Following a high profile and newsworthy murder, the Norfolk Constabulary press office will make early contact with the victim's family usually through family lisiaon officers or the senior investigating officer. Our service includes advising them on how to deal with the Media and what to expect from them and also supporting them throughout any interviews and press conferences.
Our object is to make the victims as comfortable as possible at a time when they are suffering the kind of heartache that most of us cannot even begin to imagine.
When victims agree to take part in a Press Conference we will talk to them about the room to be used, the set-up and who will be present. The seating arrangements on the top table will be left to them, along with decisions about who they will have supporting them and even the number of journalists they are prepared to have present. We will also organise a set of signals by which they can terminate a press conference at any point if they are feeling unhappy.
We never force victims to answer questions directly and indeed have organised press conferences whereby victims have remained silent whilst a police officer or press officer has read out a statement on their behalf.
The essence of a successful press conference is that the victims feel at the end that it has been of some benefit to them. At all times they must be in control of the event and never made to feel that they are being forced to do anything against their will.
It is our experience over the past six years that relatively few victims refuse to speak to the Press. Many have been happy to deal with the Media and that was really where my research began.
By talking to victims I wanted to find out their reasons for co-operating and why they accepted the limelight. My research surrounded victims who have had close relatives murdered or victims who have suffered serious personal attack. All those I spoke to have been part of high profile crimes in Norfolk over the past six years and I found all were happy to talk about their experiences and reasons.
After many hours of interviews I came up with numerous reasons for co-operating with the Media. Many of these were replicated in more than one case. They included the following:
- As a memorial to a loved one
- To avoid the perpetrator of the crime gaining notoriety and publicity in order to turn themselves into a celebrity or gain justification for their crime.
- Anger
- Safeguarding others from falling into a similar trap (particularly relevant where sons and daughters have been involved in drugs or prostitution)
- Keeping control of the situation
- Previous positive feelings about the Media
- To help with the investigative process.
Above all my research has taught me never to second guess how a victim will react to Media interest and that it is not our function to eitehr talk victims into or out of dealing with the Media. They alone must make that decision and I have found that most make it very quickly.
Only rarely have I come across victims not prepared to talk to the Press in some form or other. In a few cases I have come across, this is due to a previous in-built dislike of the Media or a bad experience at their hands in the past.
I am also convinced from my research that those victims who have either co-operated fully or "put up and dealt with" the attention of the Media have come out considerably less traumatised than those victims who have "turned their backs" and felt the full power of Media intrusion.
Norfolk Constabulary prides itself on its close liaison with victims through its family liaison set-up and also its close working relationship with Victim Support. I am proud to be part of this caring side of policing. We believe that what we do on the Media side can help victims come to terms with the trauma of their situation.
More than anything, however, I feel privileged to have seen at first hand the bravery of thses people. I have also found that what little help we have been able to give has been much appreciated and I have kept in touch with a number of the "victims."
Dealing with victims of murder and serious assualt is a job I would be happy not to have to do. Sadly it is a job that I fear Police Press Officers will be called upon to do with increasing regularity.
One particular victim I am in regular contact with refers to themselves as a member of a very exclusive club, but a club that nobody wants to be a member of.
Likewise I would love to be in a position of not having to be a guest in this mythical club. I would not wish anybody to have to suffer the heartache and trauma that I have seen victims go through.
But the reality is that murders and attacks will continue. More and more victims will be thrust into the limelight. I see it as my duty to help and support victims and hope that on a professional level I can help them to deal with the Media in the way that they wish to.
* - Police Review was a weekly magazine aimed at police officers throughout the United Kingdom. It was published from 1893 to 2011 and ran to over 6,100 issues before it was discontinued.
The following article appeared in VSM - The Victim Support Magazine No 69, Winter 1998.
Victim Support volunteers should receive training in how to cope with the media. That's the opinion of Peter Steward, who looks at the pressures faced by both victims and volunteers when serious crimes put them in the media spotlight. Peter Steward, a Press and PR Officer for Norfolk Constabulary, is currently conducting research on victims and the media as part of a Master of Arts Degree.
As we reach the millennium we are experiencing an unprecedented information explosion whereby news is instantly available to the public in many different formats.
New media such as satellite, cable and the Internet have joined television, radio, newspapers and magazines to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week news coverage. More and more outlets are scrambling for a limited amount of news and competing to find unusual or exclusive angles on the same stories.
More people than aver before, therefore find themselves under the media microscope and it is clear that this has the power to break a career, build-up or destroy an individual, or even bring down governments.
The power of the media - the single most powerful group in modern society - will continue to increase until such unlikely time as the public's thirst for information abates and people decide they no longer wish to read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch television or go on-line with their computer.
The excesses of the media are in many ways the result of the public's appetite for news, and, at times sensationalism. The worst examples of tabloid journalism are carried out simply because what they provide is the staple diet demanded by readers, viewers and listeners.
As a result victims of crime will be subjected to the full power of the media explosion whether they like it or not. Regrettably, experience shows that those who refuse to undertake interviews or co-operate will find that the media do not leave them alone and disappear. But it is impossible to pre-judgeinterest. Many are in fact happy to deal with the media and accept, if not welcome, the intrusion into their lives.
This provides an additional challenge for Victim Support volunteers. Though many will never have to cope with a full-scale media scramble, I believe all volunteers should receive training in what to expect, so that they can help victims who become the subject of media interest.
My own research has centred around victims of serious crime who have experienced the full brunt of media activity following murder, manslaughter or serious personal or sexual attack.
Those who have decided to co-operate with the media have done so for a variety of reasons. Some believe it will provide a memorial for a loved one, help the investigative process, or safeguard others who might face similar crimes. Others do so in order to try to keep control of the situation of because they have generally positive feelings towards the media. There are also those who are simply angry and want to speak out, or perhaps want to stop the perpetrator from gaining notoriety, publicity and any justification for his or her crime.
Only rarely have I come across victims who are not prepared to talk to the media, probably because they have an inbuilt dislike of it or have had a bad experience in the past. I believe that those victims who have either co-operated fully or put up with, and dealt with, its intrusions have come out considerably less traumatised than those who did otherwise.
In today's world, victims of serious crime cannot avoid the attentions of the media. I believe volunteers therefore have an important role to play in helping victims and the families of victims to cope with the spotlight, should it fall on them, because even if ignored, the media sill simply not go away.
Recommendations:
Victim Support volunteers should receive training in how to cope with the media. That's the opinion of Peter Steward, who looks at the pressures faced by both victims and volunteers when serious crimes put them in the media spotlight. Peter Steward, a Press and PR Officer for Norfolk Constabulary, is currently conducting research on victims and the media as part of a Master of Arts Degree.
As we reach the millennium we are experiencing an unprecedented information explosion whereby news is instantly available to the public in many different formats.
New media such as satellite, cable and the Internet have joined television, radio, newspapers and magazines to provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week news coverage. More and more outlets are scrambling for a limited amount of news and competing to find unusual or exclusive angles on the same stories.
More people than aver before, therefore find themselves under the media microscope and it is clear that this has the power to break a career, build-up or destroy an individual, or even bring down governments.
The power of the media - the single most powerful group in modern society - will continue to increase until such unlikely time as the public's thirst for information abates and people decide they no longer wish to read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch television or go on-line with their computer.
The excesses of the media are in many ways the result of the public's appetite for news, and, at times sensationalism. The worst examples of tabloid journalism are carried out simply because what they provide is the staple diet demanded by readers, viewers and listeners.
As a result victims of crime will be subjected to the full power of the media explosion whether they like it or not. Regrettably, experience shows that those who refuse to undertake interviews or co-operate will find that the media do not leave them alone and disappear. But it is impossible to pre-judgeinterest. Many are in fact happy to deal with the media and accept, if not welcome, the intrusion into their lives.
This provides an additional challenge for Victim Support volunteers. Though many will never have to cope with a full-scale media scramble, I believe all volunteers should receive training in what to expect, so that they can help victims who become the subject of media interest.
My own research has centred around victims of serious crime who have experienced the full brunt of media activity following murder, manslaughter or serious personal or sexual attack.
Those who have decided to co-operate with the media have done so for a variety of reasons. Some believe it will provide a memorial for a loved one, help the investigative process, or safeguard others who might face similar crimes. Others do so in order to try to keep control of the situation of because they have generally positive feelings towards the media. There are also those who are simply angry and want to speak out, or perhaps want to stop the perpetrator from gaining notoriety, publicity and any justification for his or her crime.
Only rarely have I come across victims who are not prepared to talk to the media, probably because they have an inbuilt dislike of it or have had a bad experience in the past. I believe that those victims who have either co-operated fully or put up with, and dealt with, its intrusions have come out considerably less traumatised than those who did otherwise.
In today's world, victims of serious crime cannot avoid the attentions of the media. I believe volunteers therefore have an important role to play in helping victims and the families of victims to cope with the spotlight, should it fall on them, because even if ignored, the media sill simply not go away.
Recommendations:
- Volunteers should be trained in what to expect from the media
- The wishes of the victim or the victim's family must always come first
- The decision to talk to the media or otherwise belongs to the victim or the victim's family and they should at all times remain in control of the situation
- The volunteer's role in to provide support and information about the media and what the victim should expect.
- Volunteers should not become personally involved with the media.
- The Police Press Officer's role is to provide support to both victims and volunteers.
The following article headlined Forgotten People? appeared in the Association of Police Public Relations Officers' Newsletter of November 1999
Victims of crime are all too often the forgotten people in our society. Whilst the focus on offenders is deep and extensive, we all too often forget about those suffering as a result of personal attack and/or the violation of their property.
Three years ago I was given the opportunity by Norfolk Constabulary to start a Master of Arts degree in professional development at the University of East Anglia. The degree consisted of a number of work-orientated modules.
I wanted to study something which would be a) vibrant and meaningful and b) a subject where little research existed. I eventually decided on a study on the effect that the media has on victims of crime. By doing this I was hoping to call upon my own experiences as a former journalist and a working police public relations practitioner along with the experiences of victims of major crime.
My definition of major crime ran to serious personal or sexual attacks and murder or manslaughter. In cases of murser and manslaughter I regarded the victims as close relatives of those killed.
I interviewed numerous "victims of crime" as well as members of the media and colleagues from within the police service and my findings surprised me for a number of reasons, including the following:
I soon realised that my subject was a vast one and there is little scope in the confines of this article to go into any depth. Suffice it to say that following the research the Press Office of Norfolk Constabulary has been able to formulate a policy of helping victims of crime and relatives of those murdered to deal with the media. We offer this help through our family liaison officers. It includes setting up press conferences, preparing and reading statements and letting victims know what to expect from the media.
We now work closely with our local Victim Support group to this end and have supported families in a number of high profile mureder cases. I feel this enhances both our professionalism and our stance as carers. I have received excellent support from senior detectives and we are hoping to look at ways of developing this area of work.
In addition I now give regular inputs to APPRO training courses in Lincoln where I am joined on stage by Karen Newman and Julia Admans. Julia is training and development officer for Victim Support in Norfolk and Karen was left for dead when she was stabbed over 70 times by a relative. Karen's story provides a powerful message of survival and the benefits of co-operating with the media.
I have also given an input to the East Anglian Conference of the Survivors of Bereavement Through Suicide group and had articles published in Police Review and Police Research and Management magazines.
Victims of crime are all too often the forgotten people in our society. Whilst the focus on offenders is deep and extensive, we all too often forget about those suffering as a result of personal attack and/or the violation of their property.
Three years ago I was given the opportunity by Norfolk Constabulary to start a Master of Arts degree in professional development at the University of East Anglia. The degree consisted of a number of work-orientated modules.
I wanted to study something which would be a) vibrant and meaningful and b) a subject where little research existed. I eventually decided on a study on the effect that the media has on victims of crime. By doing this I was hoping to call upon my own experiences as a former journalist and a working police public relations practitioner along with the experiences of victims of major crime.
My definition of major crime ran to serious personal or sexual attacks and murder or manslaughter. In cases of murser and manslaughter I regarded the victims as close relatives of those killed.
I interviewed numerous "victims of crime" as well as members of the media and colleagues from within the police service and my findings surprised me for a number of reasons, including the following:
- Most victims seemed happy to co-operate with the media. Very few refused to be interviewed.
- Most victims thought deeply about their reasons for co-operating with the media and many felt they had used them for specific reasons.
- The media believe they behave in a "professional" manner towards victims but are aware that their profession suffers from the excesses of a few outlets.
I soon realised that my subject was a vast one and there is little scope in the confines of this article to go into any depth. Suffice it to say that following the research the Press Office of Norfolk Constabulary has been able to formulate a policy of helping victims of crime and relatives of those murdered to deal with the media. We offer this help through our family liaison officers. It includes setting up press conferences, preparing and reading statements and letting victims know what to expect from the media.
We now work closely with our local Victim Support group to this end and have supported families in a number of high profile mureder cases. I feel this enhances both our professionalism and our stance as carers. I have received excellent support from senior detectives and we are hoping to look at ways of developing this area of work.
In addition I now give regular inputs to APPRO training courses in Lincoln where I am joined on stage by Karen Newman and Julia Admans. Julia is training and development officer for Victim Support in Norfolk and Karen was left for dead when she was stabbed over 70 times by a relative. Karen's story provides a powerful message of survival and the benefits of co-operating with the media.
I have also given an input to the East Anglian Conference of the Survivors of Bereavement Through Suicide group and had articles published in Police Review and Police Research and Management magazines.
The article above mentions Karen Newman who was stabbed 70 times by a relative and left for dead. I undertook a considerable amount of work with Karen at various conferences and she subsequently became a Victim Support volunteer. Karen's story was highlighted as part of an article in the Autumn 1999 edition of the Victim Support Magazine where she is pictured with Coronation Street actress Sally Whittaker.
The text of the article inside the magazine was as follows:
Karen is in her thirties, lives in Norfolk and is married with three children, aged 5, 7 and 11.
Her sister was married for 25 years to a man who mentally abused her. He was controlling, but not particularly violent.
In November 1997 Karen's sister left her husband and moved out of the bungalow they shared. Karen arranged to go to the bungalow, with her niece - her sister's daughter - to collect her sister's belongings. She contacted a member of the family to let them know what she was doing.
Once at the bungalow her borther-in-law led them both into the kitchen, then suddenly turned and locked the door. He blamed Karen for the breakdown of his marriage and pulled a knife.
He started to stab Karen, saying that he intended to kill her. Her niece fled into another room to call the police, but her brother-in-law ran after her, dragged her into the kitchen and started to stab her too.
Karen was stabbed 56 times, her niece 35 times. Both women were thrown to the floor and Karen whispered to her niece "play dead."
Convinced he had killed them, her brother-in-law left the kitchen and wandered upsatirs to the loft. Karen managed to drag her mobile phone out of her pocket and called her brother and husband, who alerted the police.
Her brother-in-law was later arrested by armed police and Karen and her niece were taken to hospital.
Victim Support played a large role in helping Karen to rebuild her life and she is now about to embark on a two year university course to become a counsellor. As part of her training she will get some job experience at Victim Support.
Karen's brother-in-law was tried for the offence and given two life sentences after pleading guilty to attempted murder. Earlier this year he killed himself while in prison.
The text of the article inside the magazine was as follows:
Karen is in her thirties, lives in Norfolk and is married with three children, aged 5, 7 and 11.
Her sister was married for 25 years to a man who mentally abused her. He was controlling, but not particularly violent.
In November 1997 Karen's sister left her husband and moved out of the bungalow they shared. Karen arranged to go to the bungalow, with her niece - her sister's daughter - to collect her sister's belongings. She contacted a member of the family to let them know what she was doing.
Once at the bungalow her borther-in-law led them both into the kitchen, then suddenly turned and locked the door. He blamed Karen for the breakdown of his marriage and pulled a knife.
He started to stab Karen, saying that he intended to kill her. Her niece fled into another room to call the police, but her brother-in-law ran after her, dragged her into the kitchen and started to stab her too.
Karen was stabbed 56 times, her niece 35 times. Both women were thrown to the floor and Karen whispered to her niece "play dead."
Convinced he had killed them, her brother-in-law left the kitchen and wandered upsatirs to the loft. Karen managed to drag her mobile phone out of her pocket and called her brother and husband, who alerted the police.
Her brother-in-law was later arrested by armed police and Karen and her niece were taken to hospital.
Victim Support played a large role in helping Karen to rebuild her life and she is now about to embark on a two year university course to become a counsellor. As part of her training she will get some job experience at Victim Support.
Karen's brother-in-law was tried for the offence and given two life sentences after pleading guilty to attempted murder. Earlier this year he killed himself while in prison.