Citizens Advice Cornwall raises concerns about police handling of domestic abuse and stalking

The charity have made several recommendations in a new report

Author: Sophie SquiresPublished 21st Sep 2023
Last updated 21st Sep 2023

Citizens Advice Cornwall is calling for the creation of a dedicated women’s protection unit within the police over concerns of their handling of domestic abuse and stalking complaints.

The charity say the new unit would deal with gender-based violence and share intelligence, upskill officers and staff, and work closely with other agencies and organisations.

The new unit is one of several recommendations in a new report by the charity based on the experiences of people seeking help from its Victims of Crime Co-ordinator, following allegations of poor communications, lack of empathy with victims and failures to address safety issues.

Citizens Advice Cornwall Interim Chief Executive, Jon Berg, said: "Our clients have come to us with disturbing cases where they feel their concerns have not been properly addressed by the police and they feel their lives and property are at risk.

"We know Devon and Cornwall Police, like many forces up and down the country, are under a great deal of pressure through lack of resources, but we hope speaking out on behalf of our clients will result in concrete steps to improve matters for some of the most vulnerable people in society."

Issues identified in the report by Citizens Advice Cornwall include:

  • People not being called back when reporting allegations of stalking or threats of violence
  • Failure to examine CCTV evidence
  • Lack of appropriate safety assessments
  • Lack of equipment (such as CCTV cameras) to deter potential attackers

Citizens Advice Victims of Crime Adviser, Allison Livingstone, said: "Many of the clients we see are living in fear of their perpetrators on a daily basis, so it’s vital they have confidence in the police dealing with their case.

"Victims who we’ve seen have told us they will end up dead or seriously injured or their perpetrators will move on to other relationships and will hopefully leave them alone, although this also causes huge anguish about what the next woman will go through and a misplaced feeling of responsibility to try and prevent this.

"What they don’t tell us - what none of our clients have ever said - is they believe justice will be done and those accused will be charged, tried, and punished for these crimes and the unrelenting fear and distress that has been caused."

The recommendations from the report by Citizens Advice Cornwall include:

  • Improved officer training in recognising and managing trauma responses in victims and witnesses
  • Monitoring appropriate language used with victims through bodycam footage
  • Creation a single point of contact which victims and organisations supporting victims, can access to report new information and to get updates

Cases of domestic abuse and stalking remain priorities for police

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said: "We were saddened to read the concerns of those individuals who were interviewed as part of this report. We take these concerns extremely seriously and will take the time to digest the contents of the report and see what learning we can adopt.

"We are always receptive to feedback about the service we provide and remain committed to working with victims, other agencies and the public to improve.

"We have dedicated domestic abuse teams in Devon and Cornwall Police, known as Moonstone Teams who work to support and obtain justice for all victims of domestic abuse, and as a result of the national officer Uplift we have been able to increase the number of posts in these teams by 52 officers to allow us to drive up investigative standards and the support we provide to victims. Our student officers also spend time embedded with the teams to gain experience of domestic abuse investigations and best practice.

"We work with the Community Safety Partnerships and their commissioned services to support victims, and alongside the Crown Prosecution Service to develop practices to improve the number of cases that result in a referral to the CPS, with the aim of securing convictions and safeguarding victims from further harm.

"Victims of stalking can now be referred to an Independent Stalking Advisory Caseworker (ISAC) who will provide significant support for them through the investigative and criminal justice process."

The Force say they have introduced a range of improvements to their domestic abuse response, including:

  • Focusing on the arrest of the suspect in order to safeguard victims in the first instance
  • Updating their Police Perpetrated DA policy, including specialist support provision
  • Introducing and embedding the various elements of the DA Act 2021, which includes the wider definition of what constitutes domestic abuse
  • The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) or “Clare’s Law” access has moved to the new Single Online Home website enabling direct internet-based requests from the public
  • The introduction of the Public Protection Notice (PPN), which records safeguarding concerns and is shared with partner agencies to inform a multi-agency response
  • The roll-out of PPN training to all relevant staff, with plans to deliver Domestic Abuse Matters training, along with further Homicide Timeline and Police Perpetrated Domestic Abuse training. Wider vulnerability training is ongoing Forcewide with cross over benefits to those officers and staff responding to domestic abuse or stalking incidents
  • An increase in Crime Data Integrity scrutiny to ensure that all crimes are recorded accurately and regular audits to assess the quality of reports and ensure remedial action where required

A spokesperson for the Force continued: "Domestic abuse and stalking remain priorities for Devon and Cornwall Police.

"We have staff with specialist skills and experience to deal with reports, investigate offences and to signpost victims to specialist support groups for ongoing support. Therefore we encourage victims and anyone who is aware of domestic abuse to report it to the police or alternatively to local specialist support services."

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