NPCC responds to HMICFRS report on domestic abuse

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

“The Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection has found that there have been considerable continued improvements in the police response to domestic abuse. We are arresting more domestic abuse perpetrators overall, making better use of the powers available to us and investing more in officer training and capabilities. There has been a rise in reporting over recent years demonstrating that domestic abuse victims are increasingly confident to come forward and report incidents.

“This report sets out a number of areas of improvement and recommendations which we will carefully consider going forward. In particular we take the disparity in crime recording and arrest rates very seriously and we have taken steps to improve this; a number of forces with the lowest arrest rates in 2016 have already significantly improved their response.

“In the report, HMICFRS rightly acknowledges that the surge in domestic abuse cases is placing real pressure on forces. At a time when police are doing more with less, domestic abuse reporting has increased significantly.  This means we are committing an unprecedented and growing level of resource to fulfil our aims of ensuring every victim contacting the police is safer as a result and that we secure justice for them.”