The recommendations stem from an IPCC investigation into a rape of a woman by her ex partner. The woman had reported harassment by her ex partner on several occasions over the previous two weeks. The recommendations relate to Derbyshire Constabularies approach to completing and reviewing risk assessments towards potential victims of domestic abuse, policies regarding dealing with domestic abuse and guidance to control room staff concerning crown court and police bail conditions.
It became clear during the IPCC investigation that many experienced control centre staff did not know the difference between Crown Court and police bail conditions, nor understand the importance of differentiating between the two. It is recommended that when training control centre staff Derbyshire Constabulary include in that training clear guidance as to the definitions of and differences between Crown Court and police bail conditions.
Yes
Derbyshire Constabulary produced a training document/package which they delivered to all their call handlers.
The IPCC reccomends the following in regards to the completion of the DASH risk assessment form.
The DASH form is completed as thoroughly as possible by the attending officer, having regard to all the questions. More emphasis should also be put on the level of risk should being assessed by officers and staff using their professional judgement rather than by computer. Similar recommendations were also made by the HMIC report 'Everyone's Business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse (2014).
Yes
Point A
Historically there have been issues around officers completing DASH risk assessments. In response to this need the organisation has invested heavily in raising awareness and training in this area, in particular the following action has been taken:
- A domestic abuse investigation pack has been created for the use of all investigating officers. This document includes guidance on the completion of the DASH and the broader investigative response required in this area. (This document has now been accepted as best practice nationally and forms part of the new Domestic Abuse APP).
- A half day training input is being delivered to all frontline police officers, PCSOs and support staff. This input covers risk assessment completion, coercive and controlling behaviour, honour based violence and safety planning for victims of domestic abuse. This represents a major commitment for the Constabulary and the programme is ongoing.
- All domestic abuse incidents will not be closed until reviewed by the supervisor. The review includes answering four questions that cover the ongoing safety of the victim and whether or not the risk level arrived at by the attending officer is appropriate.
- Underpinning all of the above activity is the "Think Family" message. This in effect is a communication strategy this has been disseminated throughout the organisation and seeks to encourage all staff to use their professional judgement when attending any incident and to think broadly about what they are dealing with and whether or not the issue they are dealing with has wider implications over and above a criminal investigation.
Point B
- The use of professional judgement by police officers has been encouraged and recommended during the domestic abuse training and awareness raising. The DASH has also been amended to allow officers to override the numeric risk assessment classification and to use their professional judgement to classify risk if they believe the risk level does not reflect their views.
- The need to continually raise awareness of the need to use professional judgement and to fully understand domestic violence is embedded in the organisation response and some of the key issues covered above.
The IPCC recommends that Derbyshire Constabulary should adopt an appropriate definition of a repeat victim and ensure that risks associated with repeat victimisation should be addressed. The IPCC recommend that Derbyshire Constabulary take steps to put these measures into place. Similar recommendations were made in the HMIC report, 'Everyone's Business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse' (2014).
Yes
The organisation has now developed appropriate definitions for repeat and serial domestic abuse perpetrators. A repeat domestic abuse perpetrator is now defined as:
"A person who has committed domestic violence against an intimate partner on two or more occasions during a 12 month period".
A Serial Perpetrator is defined as:
"Alleged to have used or threatened violence against two or more victims who are unconnected to each other and who are or have been intimate partners of the perpetrator (as opposed to repeat offending against the same victim or persons in the same household) over a rolling 3 year period."
Both the above definitions are now embedded in Guardian as flags and can be searched by anyone. In particular RTI can access the information when officers are called to incidents and provide them with detailed information on the offending history of the offender involved.
The IPCC reccomends that Derbyshire Constabulary should review its practice of closing standard risk domestic abuse cases not reviewed within seven days without undertaking any further assessment of risk or a review of what action may be required, including support to the victim.
It is of concern that in August 2014 standard risk assessments were still not being reviewed within the seven day guideline, and it is reccomended by the IPCC that Derbyshire Constabulary detail the steps they have taken to address this. The HMIC report 'Everyone's Business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse' (2014) made similar reccomendations.
No
The issue relating to backlogs have been an issue in the organisation for a number of years. For a brief period there was a policy decision made that if a standard domestic violence referral had not been processed within the seven day period it would be closed without being linked. This approach no longer exists and all domestic violence referrals are now appropriately linked and closed. There do still remain major challenges in relation to the volume of referrals received by the organisation and the capability to deal with them in a timely manner. The current Guardian crime system is not fit for purpose in this area and is being replaced in 2016 and it is hoped that this will streamline the processes and time required to complete a referral. There have also been issues in relation to the level of resources committed to this area of work and the turnover of those involved in it. In response to this a number of additional staff have been recruited specifically into this area and overtime allocated to the issue. The current backlog remains under weekly review and is reported upon to the Strategic Governance Board, this is a forum run by the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Officers during this incident failed to adaquately identify the risk that was posed to the victim in this case. The IPCC reccomends that Derbyshire Constabulary should undertake an analysis of the training requirements of officers and staff to ensure that they are equipped with an understanding of domestic abuse, including coercive and psychological control. Any training should also include raising awareness of what options are available when undertaking safeguarding of the victim. Similar reccomendations were made in the HMIC report, 'Everyone's Business
Yes