HMIC report on domestic abuse shows we listen to criticism and take action to improve our service to the public

National Police Chiefs’ Council for Domestic Abuse, Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said:

“The changes in the police response to domestic abuse found by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) demonstrate that we look at ourselves, listen to criticism and take action to improve our service to the public.  There’s still more to do both in terms of our service to victims of domestic abuse and our wider response to vulnerable people; HMIC’s reports challenge us to do this better and we will act on their valuable recommendations to help us get there. 

“HMIC found that police leaders were making progress in ensuring that domestic abuse was a priority in practice, had protected their dedicated teams despite budget cuts and there’d been tangible improvements in risk assessment, officers’ initial response and the subsequent investigation.  Crucially they found there’d been a cultural change with officer and staff attitudes towards victims changing for the better, giving more people the confidence to report to the police.

“We are adapting so that our focus is on working proactively with other agencies to protect the public from harm, with particular focus on those who are most vulnerable.  This requires a cultural shift away from largely reactive policing that targets acquisitive crime with success measured by crime statistics and conviction rates.  It does take time and does require the same commitment from our partners in health, education and social services.”