Police and Crime Commissioners to scrutinise police handling of domestic violence
27 Mar 2014 11:41 AM
Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has published a thematic report summarising
its inspection of how forces tackle domestic
violence
Key
findings:
- Police response to victims of
domestic abuse is not good enough; forces need to take decisive action
now.
- Police attitudes too often
judgmental (despite improvements over the last decade and commitment of many
excellent officers).
- Skills to identify and tackle
domestic abuse lacking.
- Core policing, investigating the
offence and safeguarding the victim, is not happening.
- Four forces cause serious
concern and are required to provide immediate action plans prior to
re-inspection. Of these four forces, two have already been subject to a
re-inspection.
Katy Bourne, Sussex
PCC, and Vera Baird, Northumbria PCC,
members of the HMIC domestic violence Inspection reference group,
said:
“Tackling domestic abuse
is a key priority for Police and Crime Commissioners and this report provides a
real opportunity for us, as the public voice in policing, to make sure the
police work with domestic violence victims and outside agencies to place more
emphasis on this area.
“The report recognises
that there are many frontline professionals who demonstrate real expertise and
a concerted effort in tackling domestic abuse, but it is disappointing that the
overall findings reveal that many police forces are still failing victims. We
must never be complacent about tackling this socially unacceptable
crime.
“Police and Crime
Commissioners will work closely with Chief Constables to draw up force action
plans to improve police performance in tackling domestic violence. We will
strengthen our scrutiny of force performance in this area by using HMIC’s
new checklist to ensure that Chief Constables are held to account on behalf of
victims and look to work with the College of Policing to improve and drive up
standards.
“It is now more important
than ever for Chief Constables whose forces are not at the forefront to look to
forces that are progressing well in this area to build a consistent approach
across England and Wales.
“HMIC has recommended that
a national oversight and monitoring group should be set up on domestic
violence. We both expect to be members of that group to make sure this agenda
is driven forward.
“We must also ensure that
there is greater co-ordination between support groups and the police to ensure
that victims feel confident to speak out.”