Police fail domestic violence victims

...as government launches action plan to tackle violence against women and girls.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has found that police response to domestic violence cases are not good enough and must be improved.

In a damming report published last week they found that only eight out of 43 forces were adequately serving domestic violence victims.

The report said there were 269,000 domestic-abuse-related crimes in England and Wales between 2012 and 2013 and 77 women killed.

Domestic violence incidents accounted for eight per cent of all recorded crime and one third of assaults with injury.

One in four young people aged ten to 24 said they had experienced domestic violence or abuse during their childhood.

On average an emergency call is made to the police about domestic violence every 30 seconds.

And domestic violence is estimated to cost £15.7bn a year.

While most police and crime commissioners say that domestic violence is a priority this is not being translated into reality.

Lancashire was deemed to be performing best, and seven other forces including Norfolk, Northumbria and Suffolk were praised, but the report found weaknesses in all other forces.

The authors had ‘very serious concerns' about the performance of the Greater Manchester, Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire forces which were causing particular concern.

The report found the initial response from police was too often poor, with inadequate collection of evidence, at the scene.

One third of victims interviewed said they felt no safer after a police visit and many said they didn’t always feel they were being taken seriously or believed.

The report concluded that many officers lacked the skills to properly deal with domestic violence cases.

It also found some officers had poor attitudes towards victims.

The centralisation of Serious Rape and Sexual Offence centres following spending cuts was creating ‘risky gaps’ in support available to victims.

The report said forces’ approaches to risk assessment were ‘confused’ and punishment of perpetrators ‘inconsistent’.

The authors call for the establishment of a national oversight group to report on progress on a quarterly basis, calls for all forces to have action plans for tackling domestic violence in place by September and that they should focus on improving police culture and attitudes.

Data, including the views of the victims, should be rigorously collected, analysed and published.

The College of Policing should review the way risk assessments are carried out, improve training and circulate good practice.

The inspectors say there should also be an investigation into the way health, local authorities and voluntary agencies work together with police to tackle domestic violence.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May, said the report made ‘depressing reading’, and that she would take personal charge of the response by chairing the national oversight group.

“The police now must take urgent action. The HMIC report shows that there needs to be a fundamental change in police culture,” she said.

But domestic violence charity Refuge called for a public inquiry.

The charity's chief executive, Sandra Horley, said it was a national disgrace that, decades after opening of the first refuge the police were still not responding adequately.

The government also launched the 2014 Action Plan of its strategy 'A Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls'.

In it, the government pledges to improve public awareness and attitudes, and will do so by  including better education in schools,  providing better training for frontline workers and supporting those affected by honor killings, Female Genital Mutilation and support for girls involved in gangs.

Story published on Women's Views on News, 31 March 2014.