Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner reacts to report on violence against women and girls
Matthew Barber says there's a huge amount of work being done in the Thames Valley Police force to tackle the issue.
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police has been reacting to this weeks report into violence against women and girls.
This week a new report from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing branded the issue "a national emergency".
Figures revealed 3,000 violent crimes are perpetrated against women and girls daily. One million of the crimes were recorded between 2022 and 23. The report also estimated one in every 12 women will be a victim per year.
Matthew Barber the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley Police said the issue was a priority for the force, and that they were doing 'probably more than almost any other force in the country' to tackle the issue.
Mr Barber says there's a huge amount of work being done in the Thames Valley Police force to tackle the issue, and the force is doing 'probably more than almost any other force in the country' to tackle violence against women and girls:
"We're seeing increases in charges for rape in recent years and more arrests for domestic abuse."
The deputy chief executive of the College of Policing said violence against women and girls had "reached epidemic levels" in England and Wales and called for government intervention in the "overwhelmed" criminal justice system.
Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said the creation of a National Centre for Public Protection would support police forces with specialist knowledge and training for investigators and officers.
She added that the data from the National Policing Statement was "staggering", with police records of violence against women and girls increasing by 37% from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
DCC Blyth, who is NPCC lead for violence against women and girls, said society needed to "move forward" and "no longer accept violence against women and girls as inevitable".
Matthew Barber mirrored her comments, saying:
"We have to recognise how much more seriously we are taking these issues than certainly a generation, but even a few years ago."
He feels the numbers reflect more people feeling confident to come forward and report these crimes, and not necessarily an increase the in crimes themselves.
Mr Barber adds that his experience with local charities shows more people are reporting issues such as domestic violence, saying society has a 'lower tolerance' for these kinds of crimes.