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HMIC – Leicestershire Domestic Abuse Action Plan

An update to the 2014 Plan and ongoing actions for 2016/17

Recommendation / Completion Date and Owner / Progress
Provide specific guidance on domestic abuse which should be readily available to Call Takers. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
Contact Management staff have access to a web based Information Centre, which contains guidance on domestic abuse, allowing calls to be dealt with as effectively as possible.
All new Call Takers receive training on domestic abuse and how to deal with calls relating to it.
All operational officers and staff, including Call Management staff, are currently receiving briefings from their supervisors on a variety of subjects to refresh their awareness of how to deal with vulnerable people. The Domestic Abuse briefing was prioritised and has been available since January/February 2016.
Consider reviewing its policy for undertaking background intelligence checks to make clear who has responsibility for this. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Target Completion Date:
September 2016 / Update April 2016:
The Force policy for carrying out intelligence checks has been reviewed and it has been decided that this responsibility is set out clearly and there is currently no requirement for any changes to be made.
This action is being kept open to monitor compliance against procedures, as part of the regular audits carried out.
The force should review how information about repeat victims is being managed locally, to ensure a consistent approach across the force. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Target completion date:
June 2016 / Update April 2016:
This has been reviewed, and there is a consistent approach across the force. The Project 360 Team (police and outreach workers from voluntary sector) make contact with repeat victims to assess the situation and ensure support is offered. If they consider that a deeper review is required (looking at all incidents, support already offered, further opportunities to assist etc), then this is passed to the Domestic Abuse Support Team to complete.
This process is being reviewed at present to evaluate if this process is having an impact on the number of repeats and the service offered by police and other agencies.
The force should review the training currently provided to non-specialist staff, to ensure they understand the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment risk assessment tool (DASH). / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
During their initial training, Student Officers receive an input by a Detective Sergeant from the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit to ensure they know what to do when they attend a domestic abuse incident. This includes how to complete a risk assessment using the DASH risk assessment tool and why that risk assessment is important. Any offences identified by those attending officers will then be investigated by officers in the Force Investigation Unit (FIU), who have also received an input on the risk assessment process to understand how to use the information provided in the DASH risk assessment to protect the victim.
All operational officers and staff, including Call Management staff, are currently receiving briefings from their supervisors on a variety of subjects to refresh their awareness of how to deal with vulnerable people. The Domestic Abuse briefing was prioritised and has been available since January/February 2016.
The force should review the process for supervision of DASH risk assessments, and either ensure that any supervision is meaningful, or remove the requirement for a supervisor to sign off the form. / Action Owner:
DI Mark Parish/
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
This process was reviewed in 2015 following the implementation of the new computer system for recording crime (NICHE). This review showed that the sergeants are checking and discussing completed risk assessments with their officers to make sure the risk has been assessed at the correct level.
Following one of the inspections by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) in 2015, they confirmed that they agreed that sergeants were supervising the risk assessments effectively.
The force should review the availability of digital cameras to allow officers attending reports of domestic abuse to capture evidence. / Action Owner:
DI Mark Parish/
PS Aaron Horn
Action completed / Update April 2016:
Officers now have personal issue Body Worn Video cameras (BWV). Officers are instructed that BWV will be activated at all domestic incidents unless there are exceptional circumstances. If not used, officers are required to provide details as to why not.
The evidence gathered from BWV is assessed (random dip sample) to ensure the quality is good, and positive or developmental feedback is provided to the relevant officers.
The force should take steps to ensure that officers and staff are clear on their responsibilities when cases are handed over, or where suspect is kept in custody for a remand application. / Action Owner:
DI Mark Parish
Action Completed / Update April 2016:
The way the Force works makes it clear who owns an incident/investigation at any point. The Response officers own an incident until it is allocated to either an investigating officer or a neighbourhood officer (depending on what sort of follow up action is required). Officers have been reminded that ownership includes ensuring that safeguarding action is taken to protect a victim of domestic abuse.
This is specifically mentioned in the Domestic Abuse Procedure and officers have been reminded via email.
The force should review whether it is the case that the reassessment of risk is influenced by the capacity of the DAIU and, if so, take steps to address this. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
A Detective Inspector outside the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit has carried out a review of reports that were reassessed by the Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit Sergeants as a lower risk than the initial assessment by the attending officer. This review has shown the risks were re-assessed correctly and therefore follow up actions allocated appropriately.
To provide an additional check on this process, any risk that is re-assess from High to Medium or Standard, is still assessed at the fortnightly Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) where all High risk cases are discussed. This makes sure that if any new information comes to light, then the risk can be re-assessed further.
The force should review the approach to those cases falling below the threshold for the new DAST to ensure that there is clarity about how risk in such cases will be managed. This should include the threshold for the referral of repeat incidents. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Target completion date:
June 2016 / Update April 2016:
This has been reviewed. The Project 360 Team (police and outreach workers from voluntary sector) make contact with repeat victims to assess the situation and ensure support is offered. If they consider that a deeper review is required (looking at all incidents, support already offered, further opportunities to assist etc), then this is passed to the Domestic Abuse Support Team to complete.
This process is being reviewed at present to evaluate if this process is having an impact on the number of repeats and the service offered by police and other agencies.
The force should seek to establish arrangements for the identification and management of serial domestic abuse perpetrators / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck/ DI Tim Lindley
Target Completion Date:
June 2016 / Update April 2016:
A lot of work has been done around this and there are now processes in place to manage and support repeat perpetrators.
Before this action can be completed however, further work is still needed to differentiate (from the viewpoint of all the various partner agencies involved) between a Serial Perpetrator and a Repeat Perpetrator to see if there are additional concerns to be addressed. In very simple terms a serial perpetrator is someone who commits acts of domestic abuse with consecutive/multiple partners, whereas a repeat perpetrator commits domestic abuse numerous times but only with one partner.
The force should review how the information obtained from the survey of domestic abuse victims is used to improve the service provided by the force. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
The information obtained from surveys is currently sent to the Detective Inspector and individual feedback is given to officers where appropriate. Domestic Abuse satisfaction surveys recommenced in April 2016, the results for the first quarter will be available in July.
The Detective Chief Inspector for Adult Safeguarding now gives regular video briefings on any new learning points to come from audits, reviews, surveys etc, so this will now also be including any trends emerging from satisfaction surveys.
The force should seek to establish a more effective way for lessons learnt from Domestic Homicide Reviews and Serious Case Reviews to be communicated across the force. / Action Owner:
DCI Jonny Starbuck
Action completed / Update April 2016:
There is a Serious Case Review Group, which is chaired by the Head of Crime (Chief Supt, Crime and Intelligence Directorate). This meets every six weeks to go through the action plan for each Review, and the dissemination of any specific learning point is tasked out via this Group. The Detective Chief Inspector for Adult Safeguarding now gives video briefings on any new learning points to come from Domestic Homicide Review and Serious Case Reviews. The first one was released on 15th April 2016.

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