Crime reduction 

Improvements to how we deal with domestic abuse

Since 2003, Thames Valley Police has made a number of significant improvements to how it deals with domestic abuse.

These include:

All domestic abuse incidents are now graded as ‘urgent’ as a minimum. This means that police officers aim to respond within at least one hour unless circumstances require a more immediate response.

Force policy on domestic abuse states that officers must positively intervene in all domestic abuse incidents. When considering the level of intervention, the arrest of the alleged perpetrator must always be considered. Officers must be able to justify why they have not arrested. This has led to a considerable increase in the number of people arrested for domestic abuse-related offences.

Officers can now phone in details of crimes to Police Enquiry Centres where an operator enters the information directly on to Thames Valley Police databases. This means that there is no delay in the information being made available on Force systems.

All domestic abuse incidents – not just crimes – are recorded on to Thames Valley Police databases. Police Enquiry Centre staff can search these databases for information about any previous police contact with the victim or offender.

Each of the Force’s five Basic Command Units – Oxfordshire, Berkshire East, Berkshire West, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes – has a Domestic Abuse Unit.

Thames Valley Police officers and staff have received basic training in dealing with domestic abuse.

The management of domestic abuse cases with other agencies and voluntary groups (for example: social services, health service, education departments, Women’s Aid) has considerably improved. Nine multi-agency risk assessment committees (MARACS) operate in Thames Valley.

A Force-wide domestic abuse policy has been in place since 2004 and is reviewed annually. A Force-wide ‘honour-based’ violence policy has been introduced which also includes policy on forced marriages.

In addition, Thames Valley Police has supported:

• The introduction of five domestic abuse courts – in Maidenhead, Milton Keynes, Newbury, Oxford and Reading.
• The introduction of independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs). They are independent of the Criminal Justice system but support victims throughout the criminal justice process
• The National Centre for Domestic Violence (opens new window), a charity which is now operating in Thames Valley, which offers a free service to anyone who is suffering from domestic abuse.