How many dedicated Domestic Abuse officers does Bedfordshire Police have? – ANSWER : 1
How many of our 43 police forces respond ‘well’ to reports of domestic abuse crime? – ANSWER : 8
How many women were killed by their partners in the twelve months 2012 to 2013 ? – ANSWER : 77
A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary calls for an urgent overhaul by the police service of its response to domestic abuse crime. The report demands a shift in attitude and action from frontline officers right up to the senior figure at the top of each force.
Greater Manchester, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Gloucestershire were singled out as a particular cause for concern.
The report found that victims’ reports are frequently not taken seriously and that some officers showed a ‘considerable lack of empathy’ when handling cases.
The report detailed worrying shortcomings in basic police procedures and investigation – for example in half of the Domestic Violence case files inspected , no photgraphs of the injuries had been taken.
Assistant Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe, of The Association of Chief Police Officers said of domestic violence ;
‘It’s complex, it’s difficult, and it’s not something we can do alone’
It is now decades since Refuge opened its first ‘safe house’ to help protect women when the police were failing to do so. Surely the time has now come for the police to stop making excuses and face their responsibilities towards the victims of these horrible crimes.
At the very least the police need to ensure
- Specialist training and units to deal with domestic abuse.
- Inappropriate behaviour and languge by officers is challenged by the police themselves.
- A clear message from the very top of each force that domestic abuse is a crime like any other and that it will be tackled vigourously.
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