Operational Policing
Investigating domestic violence
General guidance and documents related to domestic violence.
Domestic violence (DV) is a huge problem for society and for the police. DV accounts for around 15% of all violent crime, and will involve one in four women and one in six men at some point in their lives.
Tragically, two women are murdered every week as a result of DV, accounting for 35% of all murders. DV also has the highest rate of repeat victimisation, a figure that police and our partners need to work together to reduce.
National delivery plan
To tackle this problem, the government has produced a national delivery plan for domestic violence that sets out a strategic framework ranging from early intervention and prevention through to the rehabilitation of perpetrators and resettlement of victims. This plan has provided direction to local partnerships, agencies and communities on how to protect adult and child victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
Key programmes within the plan are the Tackling Violent Crime Programme (TVCP) and the Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC) Programme. Both programmes have been catalysts for an improved response to DV locally through the fast-tracking of innovative practice aimed at tackling DV. One of the Home Office led initiatives will be a targeted campaign between the 14 December 2007 and 6 January 2008 as part of the tackling violent crime programme. This will allow selected police areas to respond to a seasonal increase in domestic violence and to reduce the harm caused to victims.
Guidance available
Domestic violence courts have recently been expanded around the country, and an interactive guidance document, Lessons Learned from the Domestic Violence Enforcement Campaigns 2006, has been released.
This interactive document with working links includes numerous examples of guidance, and should be considered alongside the guidance for the SDVC programme and the recently published Progress Report for Domestic Violence.
These guidance documents and reports will help forces, basic command units and local partnerships deal more effectively with domestic violence as part of a coordinated community response. The guidance will be updated in 2008 to reflect the lessons learned from the December 2007 initiative.
