Police praised for work with abuse victims

POLICE in Cheshire are doing some effective work to identify victims of domestic abuse and make them feel safer, according to HM Inspector of Police.
In a detailed report, the inspectorate notes there is good partnership working between the police and other agencies, and the fact that Cheshire has processes in place to ensure victims are notified when offenders are released from prison.
Specific mention is made of the skill of call takers in the force control centre when dealing with the first calls for help from victims.
The force also receives praise for the steps the police take to keep victims safe.
In Cheshire, domestic abuse accounts for 1 per cent of calls to the police for assistance. Of these calls, 33 per cent are from repeat victims and domestic abuse accounts for 8 per cent of all recorded crime. The force also recorded 4,649 assaults with injury, of these 1,323 were domestic abuse related. This is 28 per cent of all assaults with injury recorded for the 12 months to the end of last August.
Assistant Chief Constable Ruth Purdie said: “We are pleased with the positive findings by HMIC, but we know there is much more
that we can be doing to address this pervasive, all-year- round problem. “Over the last year, we have made a big effort to make sure officers and staff understand how they can help domestic abuse survivors with referrals to support services. We are also piloting new tagging devices in the force to ensure that offenders cannot approach people they have abused.
“From June, we will be able to use new powers to protect people with Domestic Violence Protection Notice and Orders. There is also a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme in Cheshire which allows the police to tell the public if a new partner has a history of being abusive.”
Despite the positive comments on Cheshire, the picture was not consistent across the country – a matter for concern for policy makers.
John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire said, “The findings of the national HMIC report give me some concerns and I am pleased to hear that the Home Secretary is giving her personal attention to this.
“As part of my Victim’s Voice campaign I have been listening to the concerns raised by survivors of domestic abuse and they say that there is room for improvement in the way that they are being dealt with by the police and other criminal justice agencies in terms of the support that they are given through the ordeal of bringing a perpetrator to justice. “This often means leaving the family home and disrupting the lives of their children. It can take years before a victim has the courage to report a crime of domestic abuse and I want to make sure that they have the confidence to know that the police will do a good job and the processes are in place to support them when they reach that crisis point.
“In Cheshire, I would like to reassure victims that the processes are in place and that the Constabulary take domestic abuse very seriously. Our statistics show that 40 per cent of domestic abuse incidents in Cheshire arise as a result of alcohol abuse and we are working closely with other agencies, such as local authorities to tackle the root cause of the problem.”