- new scheme to thwart domestic abuse campaigns from behind
bars by blocking unwanted calls and letters from prisoners
- delivers on the government’s Domestic Abuse Plan
Under the scheme, police forces, prison governors and victims’
services will work hand-in-glove to automatically block offenders
from calling or sending threatening letters to their victims.
The new Unwanted Prisoner Contact Service - trialled at Kent and
Thames Valley earlier this year - will act immediately on any
intelligence to contact jails and block offenders from sending
further communications.
In practice, this will mean offenders will be physically unable
to dial their victim’s number from the prison landings or send
out letters to the victim’s address as these contact detail will
automatically be barred.
Crucially, the new scheme means survivors will not have to ask
for help themselves, with other agencies and support services
able to contact the service on their behalf – protecting them
from further trauma.
By creating a single hub for police victims and support agencies,
the new service will ensure a speedier response with dedicated
case handlers quickly locating offenders and blocking contact. It
will also prevent abusers from using other offenders to torment
their victims by barring victims’ contact details from all prison
phones.
Minister for Prisons and Probation, , said:
We will never tolerate domestic abusers who seek to continue
their campaign of abuse from behind bars and will always take
tough action against the prisoners responsible.
This new service delivers on our commitments in the national
Domestic Abuse Plan and will better protect victims once their
cowardly abusers are jailed.
During successful pilots, hundreds of victims came forward to
request contact was blocked - showing the new model is more
accessible and effective in identifying and protecting victims.
Diana Fawcett, Chief Executive of Victim Support, said:
Unwanted contact from offenders is frightening and stressful. It
can stop victims from moving on with their lives and,
particularly in cases of domestic abuse, is often used to
intimidate victims and continue campaigns of abuse.
We welcome steps to make it easier and quicker to take action and
hope that this will make a real difference for victims.
The move delivers on the cross-government Domestic Abuse Plan
which sets out investment of £140 million to support victims and
£81 million to tackle perpetrators.
The government also continues to implement the Domestic Abuse Act
which recognises all forms of abuse beyond physical violence,
introduces new offences for non-fatal strangulation and so-called
revenge porn, as well as preventing abusers from being able to
directly cross-examine their victims in family and civil courts.
The vast majority of measures are now in force.
Notes to editors
Requests to block contact can be made by the victim, on behalf of
the victim with their consent, or by police, probation, victim
services, friends, or family members of the victim without their
consent. Each case will be assessed individually.
Last year we passed our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021,
alongside a comprehensive action plan of other non-legislative
measures.
For the first time in history, we now have a general
purpose legal definition of domestic abuse which emphasises that
domestic abuse goes beyond physical violence, and includes
emotional, coercive or controlling, as well as economic abuse.
This is in recognition of the devastating impact different forms
of abuse can have on victims’ lives.
On 30 March 2022, we published the cross-government Tackling
Domestic Abuse Plan.
