HMICFRS’s fourth report on the police response to domestic abuse
found continued improvement in how the police identify, respond
to and support victims of domestic abuse.
The report recognises the good work being carried out by the
majority of police forces including:
-
continued investment in training for their workforce on domestic
abuse;
-
developing multi-agency safeguarding hubs (MASHs) to work in
partnership with other organisations to better protect victims of
domestic abuse;
- the
increased use of body worn video to capture evidence at the scene
of an incident and;
- the
increased roll-out of Operation Encompass or similar schemes,
which involve the police and schools working together to support
children present at domestic abuse incidents
These improvements are all the more impressive, given the
increases seen in recorded levels of domestic abuse. It is
important to acknowledge the pressure that the significant
increases in demand is placing on forces. Data collected during
the 2017 PEEL inspection shows that recorded levels of domestic
abuse rose by almost 90 percent since HMICFRS’s first inspection
in 2014. This is likely to represent improved recording of crimes
and increased confidence in the police with more victims coming
forward. But some police forces are unable to explain the reasons
for the rise.
HMI Zoë Billingham said:
“I’d like to congratulate forces for their continued focus on
improving services for victims and making sure that domestic
abuse remains everyone’s business.
“There’s no question that police forces have come a very long way
in responding to victims of domestic abuse - victims are now
better supported and better protected.
“And, as a result of strong commitment and leadership from chief
constables, forces continue to make their response to domestic
abuse a priority. In most forces, police officers and staff
understand how to recognise victims of domestic abuse and respond
to their needs.
“But there is still some room for improvement in the speed in
which officers attend domestic abuse incidents. In some cases, we
found that delays were impeding effective investigations and
potentially putting victims of domestic abuse at serious risk of
harm.
“And I’m troubled that we found the number of arrests for
domestic abuse-related crimes fell in 23 forces, despite the
overall number of these offences increasing, often substantially.
Forces need to be able to explain why this is happening, and
ensure they are taking positive action to protect victims.
“I’m also concerned that changes to the use of pre-charge bail
could be making it easier for perpetrators to return to the
abusive relationship, with more being released under
investigation and not having bail conditions set, exposing
victims to further potential harm. This is something we’re
looking closely at in the inspections we’re carrying out now and
will report on later this year”
The report outlines a number concerns around the use of bail. The
number of people being released on all types of bail for domestic
abuse crimes has fallen by 65 percent. Additionally, 16 forces
were unable to supply comparable year-on-year data on their use
of bail for domestic abuse cases. This suggests that they may not
be monitoring the use of bail. HMICFRS is undertaking further
work to understand how bail is being used in domestic abuse
crimes.
