Hampshire Police cut domestic violence re-offending nearly in half
That's among first time offenders in a year
Last updated 20th Jun 2022
The number of first time domestic abusers going on to re-offend in Hampshire has seen a drastic cut in a year.
That's according to research from the University of Birmingham, which has found the force's Project CARA has helped the number reduce by 41 percent.
Project CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse) works as an early ‘awareness raising’ intervention. It was first trialled by Hampshire Constabulary in 2013. Gaining national recognition, CARA has since been adopted by nine police forces who have received special dispensation by the Director of Public Prosecutions to use conditional cautions for domestic abuse as an alternative to ‘simple cautions.’
Analysing collaborative work, a team from the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Global Innovation, carried out an evaluation of offences committed in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight in 2018/19. Offenders were then tracked over 365 days in 2020/21 following their referral to the CARA programme to assess the level of reoffending rates over the proceeding 12 month period.
In total, 510 offenders were retrospectively assessed, of whom 218 had taken part in the CARA programme, whilst 292 were chosen to form a matched-control group; a group who had not attended the CARA workshops. The aim was to find out how many individuals re-offended, and to evaluate the severity of follow-on crimes.
Offences were found to have been reduced by 39% in the first six months where there had been CARA intervention, and by 41 % overall in the first 12 months. There was no differences found in the severity of offences.
Professor Heather Flowe from the School of Psychology who led the evaluation said;
“The results suggest that the CARA workshops are effective in reducing future domestic abuse harm among low to medium risk first time offenders who admit their crime.”
Not only has the project prevented a number of first-time offenders from entering the criminal justice system, it shows it is effective at breaking the cycle of abuse.
Inspector Debbie Ashthorpe, who led on the project for a number of years, said:
“We really are proud to have been involved in the original trial of the CARA project back in 2013 and to see now with this research that the initiative is still proving vital for people who experience domestic abuse.
“This innovative approach proved to us back then that CARA awareness raising workshops were effective in reducing domestic abuse in first time perpetrators, and we have run CARA workshops in our force area ever since, showing how they can make a real difference to people’s lives. On each case, we work closely with victims and survivors in each case to make sure that CARA is the right option for them. This most recent research proves that CARA continues to be effective and we welcome the findings of the report from the University of Birmingham.
“We are absolutely committed to reducing the harm caused by domestic abuse and are always seeking ways to improve our response. We’re really pleased to see that this independent analysis of our work, together with the vital services of provided by the Hampton Trust, is reducing reoffending and protecting survivors.”
Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner said:
“Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on the lives of those who experience it. In order to safeguard victims and those vulnerable to harm, it is essential that we work with perpetrators to tackle their behaviour and stop the cycle of abuse. The evaluation of CARA provides further evidence of the importance of investing in services that seek to prevent a continuation or escalation of offending.
“I am pleased to be funding Hampton Trust to deliver CARA across the whole of Hampshire and the IOW until at least 2024. In addition, I am proud to be working in partnership with them and the four upper-tier Local Authorities to provide behaviour change programmes for Domestic Abuse perpetrators. This means there is extra help available for any individuals referred to CARA who may benefit from ongoing support.”
If you've suffered domestic abuse, support can be found here.