17 men arrested across Merseyside as part of crackdown on violence against women and girls

Merseyside Police have today arrested 17 men as part of our ongoing commitment to tackling violence against women and girls.

The forcewide day of action, which has taken months of planning, targeted a number of named suspects for domestic abuse related offences including threats to kill, disclosing private sexual images, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault by beating, harassment, malicious communication and breach of a non-molestation order.

Those arrested range in age from 21 to 55 and are from the Wirral, Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Liverpool and Skelmersdale areas.

They are all currently in custody.

Today’s day of action coincides with the launch of our Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Plan which aims to target and pursue offenders, create safer spaces and improve trust and confidence in the police.

We know that every day across Merseyside, and the UK, women and girls are subjected to incidents of violence, hate and sexual assault at work, in schools, on public transports, in open spaces and at home.

Many of these incidents go unreported and we know that more needs to be done to address this.

Tackling violence against women and girls is already a priority for Merseyside Police and the Plan reiterates our commitment to making the difference that we know our communities expect from us.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “Today’s day of action is visible evidence of our ongoing commitment to pursuing offenders and protecting women and girls and I hope that it demonstrates to people that we will take positive action to bring perpetrators to justice and gives confidence to victims and survivors to come forward and speak to us.

“Merseyside Police is absolutely committed to not only responding to reports of crime against women and girls but taking all opportunities to reduce this by also making the best use of all the tools at our disposal including protection and preventative orders.

“We want to make Merseyside a place where women and girls feel safe and can live their lives free from fear and harassment but we know this is not something we can do alone. Violence against women and girls is a problem across society and needs a collaborative solution.

“We will work with women and girls to ensure they have a voice in how we deliver and develop our services and we will continue to work with our partners to better support women and girls to ensure they feel safe, that action is taken in their time of need and that they have assistance accessing emotional support or help with accommodation or finances.

“Internally we will continue to develop the culture of our force and seek out and investigate those who don’t represent the professional standards we would expect from police officers and staff. We will also continue to work to ensure there is a force-wide understanding of VAWG and have a culture that displays attitudes and behaviour that will not tolerate misogyny in the organisation or community."

Merseyside Police has today also welcomed a visit from Home Secretary Priti Patel and Hampshire’s Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, who is the national police lead for violence against women and girls.

They were able to listen to a number of presentations and meet officers and staff from the Violence Reduction Partnership, the Unity team who are responsible for investigating sexual offences and the Op Cornerstone team who are responsible for targeting domestic abuse offenders.

They were also able to hear of some of the ongoing ‘Empowering Females’ work within Merseyside Police including military leadership and the She Inspires football team.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "Violence against women and girls are heinous crimes, and I am determined to tackle this threat head on.

"Across England and Wales we are recruiting 20,000 additional police officers to help make our streets safer. 629 extra officers have been recruited to Merseyside Police so far and they have opened a dedicated unit to ensure specially-trained officers are available to support rape victims.

"This is all part of delivering on our priority of tackling the varied crimes of violence against women and girls, which are simply unacceptable, and also preventable."

National Police Coordinator for Violence Against Women and Girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, said: “It is great to see so much taking place in Merseyside to tackle violence against women and girls. Days of action such as this have a real impact and we want perpetrators of these crimes to know that we will not tolerate violence against women and girls of any kind.

“Action plans, such as the one announced today, have been drawn up by all 43 forces so that good work and areas of improvement can be identified and coordinated. At a national level and within local forces we have a good plan for change in policing which the violence against women and girls sector have helped to shape and are behind it. In my role as national police coordinator, l will review progress and ensure it is delivering what we intend. While we recognise there is still much to do, we are working hard to make meaningful change to the lives of women and girls."

Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: "Tackling Violence against Women and Girls is an absolute priority for both for myself and the Chief Constable. We are both determined to create a region which is safer for all women and girls who live, work and visit Merseyside.

“The publication of this Plan is a very welcome step in this work. It details how Merseyside Police will look to drive improvements in the way women and girls who suffer violence are supported, how offenders are brought to justice and how they can ensure women feel safer wherever they go.

“A critical part of my role is scrutinising the Chief Constable on behalf of the public of Merseyside. This framework will be a key document for monitoring Merseyside Police’s performance to ensure we continue to see improvements month on month, year on year. Much of this scrutiny is held in public now, so our communities can watch and listen first-hand to find out exactly how this work is being delivered.

“The issue of VAWG is deep-rooted and complex and the police cannot tackle it on their own. I will do everything possible to encourage our partners in criminal justice, community safety, health, education and beyond to play their part and I will be launching my own delivery plan shortly setting out actions for all agencies to improve their response to VAWG, ensuring victims are the heart of everything we do.

“There is a long way to go if we are to eradicate VAWG for good, but by working together we can be a force for change, making our region safer for all women and girls.”