Wandsworth BOCU response to domestic and sexual violence

Report: 3
Date: 6 October 2009

1. Summary

1.1 This report has been compiled at the request of the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board to give information to members on how Wandsworth Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) works to improve the service experienced by domestic and sexual violence survivors. The report highlights BOCU examples of best practice, gaps in service delivery and innovations introduced in order to: keep survivors safe; tackle domestic and sexual violence; hold offenders to account; bring offences to justice; increase reporting of domestic and sexual violence; and work in partnership with organisations and communities to continuously improve the BOCU’s response to domestic and sexual violence.

2. Recommendations

MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board note the contents of this report.

3. Introduction to Wandsworth borough

3.1 The London Borough of Wandsworth is the largest of the thirteen boroughs that make up inner London, being the areas around the town centres of Battersea, Putney, Earlsfield, Balham, Tooting and Wandsworth. The Borough is made up of 20 Wards, covering an area of 13 square miles in south London. Wandsworth town centre houses the Southside shopping centre and is the administrative centre of the borough. The town centre at Tooting, at the southern aspect of the borough, is a large commercial centre, comprising in the majority, small-medium enterprises and some larger national retailers. The Clapham Junction area has a number of large stores and fashionable shops within a relatively small site. Clapham Junction is also the centre of the entertainment businesses of the borough with a variety of clubs, pubs and restaurants within easy reach of the train station.

3.2 In 2006, the resident population was estimated to be 279,000, which represents an increase of 6.4% on 1991. The number of births in Wandsworth has also increased year on year between 2002 – 2006 to 5,000, which represents a 18% increase in 5 years. According to the 2001 Census there were 47% male and 53% female. The average size household was 2.21 people, with a quarter of the households being single people. The level of home ownership is 50%, with a further 21% of households being rented from private landlords and 23% (34,000 households) from the council or registered social landlords.

3.3 Office for National Statistics Annual Population Survey 2008 data reveals that 73% of Wandsworth population are of working age, compared to a London average of 67%. The borough has a high percentage of economically active people at 83% of the population, against a London average of 76%, with 5.5% of people considered unemployed compared to the London average of 6.9%.The age structure of residents differs significantly from both the national and Greater London average. The 20-39 year age group represents 48% of the population compared to 28% nationally and 36% in Greater London. The 0-4 age group represents 7% of the population, which is on a par with the Greater London average. However, Wandsworth dips below the London average for the 5-19 age group, which equates to 12% of the population as compared to 17% in Greater London. The 40-59 population equates to 21% of the population, as compared to 25% in Greater London, with the 60+ population making up 13% of the local population, as compared to 16% in Greater London. This structure almost certainly reflects Wandsworth’s attractiveness as a location for young professional workers and young families.

3.4 The borough has a population that is 78% White (65% White British, 3% White Irish and 10% Other White) against a Greater London average of 71%. 4.9% of the population (12,600) were shown as Caribbean and 3.9% (10,000) as African, 2.9% (7,400) Indian, 2.1% (5450) Pakistani, 0.4% (1,100) Bangladeshi and 1.6% (4,000) Other Asian. Tooting Broadway is the centre of the Muslim Indian/Pakistani community of South London and its businesses reflect the demographics of that community.

4. Executive summary

4.1 Wandsworth Borough has shown improvements in tackling domestic and sexual violence (DSV). This is evidenced through increased arrests, sanction detections and successful prosecutions. During the period of May 2008 and June 2009 Wandsworth Borough has achieved 53% sanction detection rate for Domestic Violence and 20% for Serious Sexual violence. The positive action policy for DV has resulted in an above target arrest rate, currently at 74%. Although the main aim of this report is to identify police performance in relation to DSV and compliance with MPS Policy, the successes of the Boroughs performance can also be attributed to improved working relations with our partners.

4.2 Wandsworth Borough is committed to dealing robustly with offenders, whilst taking into account the needs of survivors and their children. This is provided through a range of bespoke appropriate local services as shown below:

• Wandsworth Borough Domestic Violence One-Stop Shop
  Wandsworth Borough launched a Domestic Violence One Stop Shop in September 2008. The aim of the weekly held service is to provide a drop-in facility for Wandsworth residents suffering from domestic violence. Representatives from the Police Community Safety Unit (CSU), Victim Support, Grants’ Solicitors and Womens’ Aid regularly attend. There is also telephone advice available from the borough Housing Department and the LGBT organisation, Broken Rainbow. A review of this service is due to be published in the near future.
• Stay Put Stay Safe Scheme
• Wandsworth Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)- MARAC is represented by the CSU, London Probation Service, Children’s Specialist Services, Adult Social Services, Learning Disability Team, Housing, Education Welfare, Drug and Alcohol Services, Victim Support, Mental Health Trust and the Primary Care Trust (Accident & Emergency Department). All representatives have received the Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA) MARAC training.
• NHS Trust and Hospitals - The CSU and the Sapphire unit have made particular efforts to improve under reporting in these areas and the NHS trust has been identified as an extremely useful link into potential victims/survivors, HBV/Forced marriages and victims of sexual assaults. As such training has been delivered to front line staff at St Georges Hospitals A and E. A relationship has been forged with the dedicated DV/Sexual assault member of staff at St Georges, where staff are given basic training to identify early signs of potential victims, with a communication conduit into the CSU/Sapphire.
• Wandsworth Victim Support
• Housing - Wandsworth BOCU has recognised that this is an area that can be improved due to the number of housing options available for survivors. Our aim is to provide appropriate housing for victims of DV and Sexual Violence in a timely manner. This is on going piece of work but we are continuing to make progress.
• Wandsworth Victim Support - Domestic Violence Service - Wandsworth Victim Support has one Independent DV Advocate (IDVA) based at the CSU in Balham, with a second advocate currently undergoing training. There are many steps a survivor needs to take to break free and recover from a violent or abusive relationship. This service is designed to provide support interventions for people at any stage of this decision making process. Support provided includes crisis intervention, support programmes and Advocacy.

4.3 Areas for development include, which are outlined throughout this report

• More timely information to survivors on court outcome and prison releases.
• Extending drug and alcohol support to all perpetrators.
• Review of information sharing protocol amongst partners.
• Review of risk identification mechanisms and subsequent on going risk assessments.
• Ensure that the Borough avoids silo working with multiple investigations and victims.
• Improve front line and secondary supervision around risk identification and management.
• Improving engagement within the BME, LGBT, Disability and adults at risk.

5. Domestic and sexual violence data

Domestic violence

5.1 Data provided in this report has been taken from the Live CRIS system by the MPS Performance Information Bureau for the period of 31 May 2008 to 01 June 2009 inclusive. Any stated performance figures also refer to this period unless otherwise stated.

5.2 There were 2801 incidents flagged separately as domestic violence of which 1187 were recorded as crimes. The figures below refer to the offences rather than incidents.

Survivor data

Age: 502 aged between 18-29, 298 aged between 30-39, 234 aged between 40-49, 84 aged between 50-59, 52 aged between 60-69, 17 unknown ages or 70+

Gender: 947 Female, 222 Male and 18 Unknown

Race: 19 Asian or Asian British - Any other Asian background; 2 Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi; 5 Asian or Asian British - Indian; 14 Asian or Asian British - Pakistani; 36 Black or Black British - African; 46 Black or Black British - Any other black background; 56 Black or Black British - Caribbean; 14 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group - Any other ethnic group; 2 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group - Chinese; 14 Mixed - Any other mixed background; 1 Mixed - White and Asian; 3 Mixed - White and Black African; 16 Mixed - White and Black Caribbean; 69 White - Any other white background; 336 White - British; 10 White - Irish;; 544 Not stated/Undefined.

Offender data

Age: 60 aged between 18-29, 39 aged between 30-39, 23 aged between 40-49, 11 aged between 50-59, 3 aged between 60-69.

Gender: 17 Female, 119 Male - These are figures obtained from PIB and the numbers are low due to a procedural issue.

Race: 1 Asian or Asian British - Any other Asian background; 0 Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi; 3 Asian or Asian British - Indian; 2 Asian or Asian British - Pakistani; 11 Black or Black British - African; 9 Black or Black British - Any other black background; 31 Black or Black British - Caribbean; 1 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group - Any other ethnic group; 0 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group - Chinese; 2 Mixed - Any other mixed background; 0 Mixed - White and Asian; 0 Mixed - White and Black African; 4 Mixed - White and Black Caribbean; 11 White - Any other white background; 58 White - British; 3 White - Irish; 0 Undefined/Not stated

Proportion of incidents of domestic violence representing repeat victimisation

5.3 Wandsworth BOCU has created a list of repeat victims of DV, despite the technical data issues, which comprises of high risk victims through risk assessments or the number of DV incidents on a rolling 12 month period. The number of victims who have suffered 2 or more recorded incidents recorded as a substantive offence in the last year is 205 and are broken down as follows:

146 had 2 reports, 37 had 3 reports, 12 had 4 reports, 5 had 5 reports, 2 had 6 reports, 2 had 7 reports and 1 had 13 reports

180 victims were female, 25 were male.

56 were African - Caribbean, 2 were Arabian/Egyptian, 11 were Asian, 136 White - Any other white background. Only one report had Methodist shown as religion the others were blank.

DV Performance

5.4 As at the 01 June 2009 the borough’s rolling 12 month sanction detection rate was 53% versus an MPS target of 47%. Police cautions accounted for 45% of this success. Arrest rate is currently 74.4% (MPS target of 70%).

5.5 The Borough recognises the need to ensure that a quality assurance process takes place for cautions and will regularly dip sample DV cautions. The Borough is comfortable with its stance on police cautions but understands that there are occasions that a decision needs to be made between “NO Further Action” or “Caution” The Borough will always consider an independent prosecution in consultation with the CPS. By allowing the caution to stand as opposed to a NFA it allows a stronger evidential package to be cited within the ‘Bad Character’ evidence in any future trials. Cautions are applied independently within the Home Office guidelines. The victim’s wishes and interest is always the forefront of any decision maker.

“Honour Based” Violence and Forced Marriage

5.6 There were 12 domestic violence incidents also ‘flagged’ as ‘honour’ based violence and/or forced marriage. This can be broken down to 5 FM, 4 HBV and 3 with both HBV & FM. The data below is taken from Police defined ethnicity:

Survivor data - 83% are defined as Asian and 17% Arabic

Offender data - 83% are defined as Asian and 17% Arabic

Number of domestic violence homicides over the last 12 months

5.7 There were 3 domestic violence homicides over the last 12 months:

Victim data - 66% are white European and 33% are African/Caribbean. The ages are 24, 84 and 76.

Offender data - 66% are white European and 33% are Afro Caribbean. The ages of the offenders are 24, 24 and 54.

Relationships description - 33% are father and son, 33% grandfather/grandson and 33% are ex partners.

Serious sexual offences

5.8 Number of crimes flagged separately as serious sexual offences

There were 113 offences flagged separately as serious sexual offences.

Survivor data

Age: 64 aged between 18-29, 20 aged between 30-39, 19 aged between 40-49, 7 aged between 50-59, 3 aged between 60-69.

Gender: 105 Female, 8 Male.

Race: 3 Asian or Asian British - Any other Asian background; 0 Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi; 1 Asian or Asian British - Pakistani; 1 Black or Black British - Any other black background; 7 Black or Black British - Caribbean; 2 Chinese or Other Ethnic Group - Chinese; 2 Mixed - White and Black Caribbean; 13 White - Any other white background; 27 White - British; 56 Not stated/Undefined.

Offender data

Age: 7 aged between 18-29, 8 aged between 30-39, 8 aged between 40-49 and 3 aged between 50-59.

Gender: 25 Male, 1 Female

Race: 3 Asian or Asian British - Any other Asian background;3 Black or Black British - African; 2 Black or Black British - Any other black background; 7 Black or Black British - Caribbean; 1 Mixed - White and Black Caribbean; 2 White - Any other white background;

Number of serious sexual offences flagged as DV

5.9 There were 48 serious sexual offences flagged as DV, of which 3 are shown as “NO CRIME”, 4 as CRI’s and 2 as specified investigations.

Serious Sexual Offences Performance

5.10 The borough’s rolling 12 month sanction detection rate for serious sexual offences stood at 20% as at 01 June 2009. Police cautions accounted for 10% of this performance outcome.

No crimed and CRI’d Data Sexual assault

5.11 CRIS data relating to serious sexual violence. The data relating to ethnicity is obtained from the officer defined fields, which have the following descriptions: White North European, White South European, Black, Asian, South East Asian, Arabic/North African

There is no data on sexual orientation or religion recorded.

5.12 Total allegations from 31/5/08 to 1/6/2009 = 103. Total number of crimes that have been either no crimed or CRI’d is 26 (25.24%) and are broken down as follows:

Crime Related Incident - 13

Survivor data (13 in sample)

Age: 2 aged between 0-17, 5 aged between 18-29, 5 aged between 30-39, 1 aged between 40-49.

Gender: 10 Female, 3 Male

Disability: None recorded

Race: 9 White North European; 2 Asian; 2 Black.

Religion &/or belief: None recorded

Sexual orientation: None recorded

Offender data (15 in sample)

Age: 7 aged between 18-29, 3 aged between 30-39, 1 aged between 40-49 and 4 none recorded

Gender: 12 Male and 3 not recorded

Disability: None recorded

Race: 4 White North European; 1 White South European; 1 Asian; 6 Black and 3 not recorded.

Religion &/or belief: None recorded

Sexual orientation: None recorded

No crime - 13

Survivor data (13 in sample)

Age: 4 aged between 0-17, 6 aged between 18-29, 1 aged between 30-39, 2 aged between 40-49.

Gender: 11 Female, 2 Male

Disability: 2 recorded as perceived deaf/disabled

Race: 7 White North European; 1 Asian; 2 Black; 1 South East Asian and 2 Unknown

Religion &/or belief: No data

Sexual orientation: No data

Offender data (14 in sample)

Age: 3 aged between 0-17, 5 aged between 18-29, 3 aged between 30-39 and 4 none recorded

Gender: 1 Female, 9 Male and 4 Unknown

Disability: No data

Race: 4 White North European; 1 White South European; 1 Asian; 3 Black;1 Arabic/ North African; and 4 unknown

Religion &/or belief: No data

Sexual orientation: No data

Haven referrals

5.13 There were 30 crime allegations flagged as referred to Haven. It is likely that more of the 103 investigations in the sample were referred but not flagged as such. This is acknowledged as an area of improvement and a process has now been introduced to ensure compliance. The Detective Inspector is now in charge of weekly checks. This will now become the responsibility of the SCD2 command.

Survivor data (30 in sample)

Age: 5 aged between 0-17, 15 aged between 18-29, 4 aged between 30-39 and 6 aged between 40-49.

Gender: 27 Female, 3 Male

Disability: 3 recorded as perceived deaf/disabled

Race: 16 White North European; 3 White South European; 2 Asian; 7 Black; 1 Arabic/ North African and 1 Unknown

Religion &/or belief: No data

Sexual orientation: No data

Offender data (49 in sample)

Age: 10 aged between 0-17, 24 aged between 18-29, 6 aged between 30-39, 5 aged between 40-49 and 4 none recorded

Gender: 4 Female, 39 Male and 6 Unknown

Disability: No data

Race: 13 White North European; 2 White South European; 3 Asian; 19 Black; 1 Arabic/ North African and 11 unknown

Religion &/or belief: No data

Sexual orientation: No data

6. Policy compliance and quality assurance

6.1 Use of risk assessment and risk management tools to ensure survivors are made safer, and that offenders are made accountable for their behaviour

The risk management process for DSV incidents is addressed in four key stages: Dynamic risk assessment, for DV there is SPECSS+, Primary Supervision and Secondary Supervision

6.2 Once the risk has been identified the respective units manage the risk in accordance with the RARA model namely: Remove the risk, Avoid the Risk, Reduce the Risk and/or Accept the Risk. CRIS reports where there is no crime alleged are allocated for secondary risk assessment, historic research of the parties involved and the venue dating back at least four years. Advice is given to survivors regarding Non Molestation Orders, crime prevention and referral to the ‘One Stop Shop’. For DSV incidents where children form part of the family dynamics (whether present at the time of the incident) a report is created and recorded within the MPS Merlin system. The report is then managed by the Borough Public Protection Desk, who will assess the risk and make decisions regarding the most appropriate department or agency to take primacy in any strategy or risk assessment.

Multiple Department Involvement and inter-departmental cohesion

6.3 Where a serious sexual offence has been committed the Sapphire Unit will take primacy and they will be supervised as per the MPS policy and protocol for the investigation of sexual assault. The Detective Inspector has overall responsibility for the investigation of sexual offences but is closely monitored by the Public Protection DCI. There is a close working relationship between the CSU and Sapphire and on occasions there are joint investigations to ensure respective expertise is utilised appropriately, in particular risk assessments. The DI’s for the respective departments meet on a regular basis to ensure understanding and progress on joint issues/investigations.

MARAC

6.4 Following a number of steering group meetings with partner agencies a MARAC process was implemented in July 2007. The MARAC, which is chaired by the CSU DI, is held every four weeks at London Probation Service premises. To date there have been a total of 207 referrals, including 26 repeat referrals. Quarterly reports are compiled by the MARAC Co-ordinator in order to monitor the source of referrals, as well as identifying the prevalence of drug, alcohol and mental health issues amongst survivors and offenders. Outcomes are also monitored at six and twelve month intervals. Reports are distributed to the DV Forum Steering Group. In order to further support the aims of the MARAC, and having identified that each MARAC operated differently, Wandsworth Borough has also introduced a MARAC Co-ordinators’ Forum. The aim of the Forum is to bring together co-ordinators from across the MPS, both police and local authority, in order to discuss issues and identify best practice. This has been a successful scheme which has received support from Territorial Policing HQ and the Government Office for London. Regular attendance by all partners at MARAC is strong. The Chair of MARAC writes to senior managers on the rare occasion partners fail to attend to ensure that attendance and participation at the MARAC will be prioritised. To monitor the MARAC referral process, the MARAC co-ordinator maintains a database of all referrals, including repeats and identifies high-risk repeat victims for referral to MARAC.

Repeat victims

6.5 Repeat Victims are allocated to a single CSU (DV incidents) or Sapphire (Sexual Violence) officer who will take ownership of that victim’s incident and all future incidents involving that victim and their children. Experience shows that such individual ownership and responsibility encourages the officer to adopt a problem solving approach and engage with our partners to ensure survivors and their children remain safe by taking all intervention opportunities. A recent case highlights the good practice embedded within Wandsworth, where a problem advisor attended the MARAC meeting to provide specific guidance to all partners.
The Safer Neighbourhood Teams are also provided with details of those survivors who have been referred to MARAC. This enables officers to be aware of those survivors at high risk and where appropriate to conduct visits and respond to any calls.

Positive Action Compliance

6.6 The BOCU operates a Positive Action Policy with the primary aim of making an arrest for criminal offences. This is designed to send a clear message to the offender that the police make the decision about arrest and the matter is no longer in the hands of the survivor. Once an arrest has been made the decision regarding prosecution is in the hands of the CPS. This reduces the risk to the survivor because the offender knows that any attempt to influence/intimidate the survivor will not affect police action. This directly holds the offender accountable for their actions. Motivating response teams to arrest offenders is an important part of the process and is attributable to good leadership. Where offenders are not present at the scene or not available to be arrested the BOCU utilises its fast-track arrest or circulation of suspect’s process. This ensures early positive action focusing on the safety of the survivor and any children. Additionally, the Response and Safer Neighbourhood Teams support the CSU by conducting arrest enquiries on a regular basis and supporting arrest days. When a suspect for DV isn’t arrested at the time of the offence then efforts are made by the response teams to arrest the suspect. The CSU will then take responsibility for the arrest should he or she remain outstanding, if after 48 hours he/she remains at large they are circulated on the Police national computer, which is further monitored by the Offender Management Unit. Failure to arrest will result in an officer being asked to explain their actions. The Daily Management Meeting (DMM) reviews all DV crimes to ensure positive action/arrest compliance and proportionality. Sexual offences are reviewed at both the DIM and DMM to ensure that series and opportunities aren’t missed.

Actions to locate victims not seen by police.

6.7 The control supervisor will ensure that a victim is seen in person and any concerns raised by the failure to speak to the victim will be risk assessed accordingly. Police powers will be used in appropriate circumstances to force entry and ensure safety for all occupants. Again this is an agenda item within DMM.

Wandsworth Offender Management Unit.

6.8 The Borough has recently invested in staff to form the Offender Management Unit. Their responsibility is to ensure that the Boroughs wanted persons and outstanding suspects are managed appropriately, particularly around risk. They will task staff across the Borough to carry out arrests for dangerous offenders. The Offender management unit meet bi weekly to discuss outstanding suspects and offer appropriate support to the relevant department. This meeting is chaired by the Borough DCI, who will hold staff to account for any lack of unjustifiable progress.

Rapes and Serious Sexual Assaults

6.9 Rapes and serious sexual assaults are investigated by the Borough Sapphire Team. To improve performance the Sapphire Unit has been internally reviewed and as a result it has been restructured and integrated into the Public Protection DCI’s portfolio. The Borough have increased the staffing and supervision level within the unit taking it from 1 Sergeant and 5 Detectives to 2 and 8. Appropriately skilled and experienced staff have been identified and deployed to the unit. The restructuring took place in November 2008 and an improvement in performance was seen for the for the sanction detection rate for Rape from 12.3% (Nov 08) to 20% (April 09). The revised Sapphire model provides greater resilience and quicker mechanisms to identify series and ability to react, including use of SNT’s and other police departments.

6.10 Unfortunately the Borough is still suffering the legacy of the Kirk Reid investigation and the Borough has put into place an action plan to try and retain and build confidence within the community. The Borough has introduced a fortnightly intelligence meeting on sexual assaults and a weekly intelligence document is circulated amongst key members of the Borough. For example in May of 09 a series was quickly identified on Tooting Bec Common. The intelligence package was developed, circulated amongst the SNT and community and the suspect was soon identified. Further victims were identified as a result of a media appeal. This has, along with other pieces of work, gone some way to maintaining the confidence of the community but there is still much work to be done. This is highlighted in the Borough action plan to improve the quality of service to victims and the standard of investigations.

CPS Engagement

6.11 Through an improved working relationship with the CPS we have set up a fortnightly CPS clinic for Sexual offences. This gives both the Police and CPS early opportunity to identify appropriate lines of enquiry and potential early Victim/CPS liaison, to allay and de mystify the judicial process.

Investigation compliance

6.12 The Borough has introduced a schedule for monitoring purposes for all Rapes within Wandsworth. This includes the key review dates and colour coding to ensure the Borough maintains SOP’s compliance.

6.13 To ensure victims are made safer a risk assessment and risk management plan is documented on all rape CRIS reports. Compliance is monitored by mandatory review periods conducted by the Detective Sergeant and Detective Inspector at 10 hours and 7 days respectively.

6.14 It should be noted that SCD2 are in the process of taking over the investigation of all serious sexual offences and they have a target date of 23 September 2009. This is being managed both centrally and locally. The Borough is in the process of ensuring that a handover is carried out without compromising any investigation or any victims. Processes are being developed to ensure that the Borough maintains the ability to investigate sexual offences and at the same time afford victims the same level of service.

On going support for Survivors and Post Charge Process

6.15 Where considered practical the Safer Neighbourhood Team’s, under the guidance of the risk manager, have followed up minor domestic incidents reinforcing the initial response advising and seeking to reassure survivors of our commitment to their safety and undertake welfare checks in appropriate circumstances. The Safer Neighbourhood Teams are ward based and as such are tasked to ward priorities. Although not responsible for the initial response to domestic incidents, the SNT’s respond to complaints by the ward of excessive noise, regular disturbances, anti-social behaviour and drug related crime. These incidents are all usually consistent with breakdowns in domestic relationships and domestic stress.

6.16 As well as aiming to keep survivors safe through arrangements already described above there are a number of measures available for survivors within the BOCU. Provision of panic alarms and the addition, of ‘Special Schemes’ on CAD where appropriate, these ensure that any calls to the survivor’s address are treated as urgent. There is a close liaison with the Victim Support Scheme. They attend the One Stop Shop and work closely with the CSU officers. Victim Support provide additional victim contact and safety planning advice for those survivors who are not high risk and have not been previously advised by CSU.

6.17 The Criminal Justice process plays a key part in keeping survivors safe and bringing offenders to justice and, ultimately, improving confidence in the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Supported by the London Criminal Justice Board, the local Borough Criminal Justice Group brings together a range of local partner agencies to form the DV Court User Group. This group works together to ensure that cases are processed, managed and expeditiously dealt with. All key partners are held to account for performance, for example in relation to case progression, listing of cases, completion of probation reports.

6.18 There is a good working relationship with the CPS Branch Crown Prosecutor (BCP) who has recently appointed a lead lawyer for the prosecution of community issues which includes DV. There are several specially trained CPS lawyers for sexual violence and they attend the CPS/Sapphire clinic on a rotational basis.

6.19 The CSU DI attends the local DV Court User Group Meeting. This meeting aims to ensure close cooperation with the Deputy Justices Clerk, court Legal Adviser, CPS Community Prosecutor, London Probation Service, Witness Service and Victim Support. This group also has the lead on behalf of the local Criminal Justice Board for the forthcoming implementation of the London Mainstreaming Model for Domestic Violence.

6.20 The majority of cases are heard at South Western Magistrates Court and, although it is not a specialist DV court, training has been and will continue to be delivered to magistrates in relation to DV matters to ensure that justice is delivered to a high standard with regard to DV matters. The Witness Service provides support to survivors by arranging pre-court visits and placing survivors and witnesses in remote rooms in which to wait for cases to be heard. This reduces the possibility of any contact between the parties where special measures apply or where the survivors or witnesses feel vulnerable. The DV Court User Group is also in the process of trying to secure an additional IDVA to support survivors attending court.

6.21 The London Probation Service operates an Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) that can form part of sentencing at court, following a conviction for domestic assault. Convicted offenders are subject to monitoring for between twelve and thirty-six months as a condition of release. Behaviour that breaches the order, for example re-offending, can result in them being brought back before the court. Wandsworth Borough is one of only three London Boroughs that actively support this programme through monthly liaison with the Probation Service. Offenders that either live in, or have links to, Wandsworth Borough are monitored by the CSU on a monthly basis and any behaviour that might constitute a breach is reported back to Probation. Wanted offenders on the programme are also targeted during local arrest days. The Probation Service interviews relevant offenders released on licence in order to assess their needs. Independent Domestic Abuse Programmes (IDAP) are provided to those offenders that have been sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment.

6.22 The communication of court results of hearings, bail applications and trials should ideally be immediate in DSV cases. At present results do not appear on the Libra system for at least 24 hours and there is no set procedure for CPS or administration at the Court to advise results to those working directly with the survivor. The obtaining of results relies on good will of staff at both the Police Station and the Court working in tandem. This impacts on safety planning which is paramount to those in the partnership working directly with survivors of DSV. In cases where there are identified risks officers attend court to ensure the survivor is informed immediately.

6.23 Communication from HMP regarding release dates of offenders needs to be improved. At present (if sentence is under one year) the onus is on the survivor to find out when the offender is to be released. Ideally this situation should be reversed so that survivors and their families can re-establish their lives without the constant worry that the offender has been released without their knowledge. If release dates (and information about licence or conditions) are communicated in a timely manner steps can be taken to arrange injunctions and address safety measures to protect high-risk survivors from further harm. NOMS (National Offender Management Service) appears in practice an inadequate medium by which survivors and their families can obtain information. This is a strategic issue that appears to be in direct contrast to all the work undertaken in relation to the Victim Code of Practice (VCOP).

Work to ensure that the 124D form is being used consistently across the borough in 100% of domestic violence cases and that the information it collects is being entered onto the relevant MPS IT assets / systems e.g. CRIS, MERLIN, and CRIMINT

6.24 Overall the Daily Management Meeting allows the SMT to intrusively fulfil their responsibility in regard to performance management for DV. The CSU DI attends the bi-monthly CSU DI meetings at New Scotland Yard to share good practice and to examine current performance.

Completion of Form 124D and integration with IT systems:

6.25 As per MPS policy the BOCU uses the book 124d to assist initial investigators capture key evidence/information, and for initial risk assessment to be undertaken. Once completed and supervised the 124d is passed to the CSU where the risk assessment is reviewed and an entry is placed on the CRIS reflecting this (compliance is currently running at 94%). The Book 124d is given a sequential log number to ensure that each investigation has a 124d and that there is full compliance with the requirement. As part of the secondary investigation CSU officers are tasked to carry out the full MPS secondary risk assessment model where ‘medium’ or ‘high risk’ has been assigned. The unit DI oversees any investigation that involves a survivor that is high risk. These are also brought to the DMM to ensure that all possible action is taken to remove/reduce the risk. Survivors that remain at high risk are referred to the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).

6.26 To increase compliance rates from 94% it is BOCU and MPS policy that officers will record the fact that they have completed the 124D on the CRIS along with any Merlin reference and CRIMINT reference numbers. This process then has two further levels of supervision, the immediate line supervisor followed by the CSU supervisors. The CSU DI dip samples DV reports highlighting best practice and non-compliance issues to the Daily Management Meetings. Feedback to response teams and the CSU is provided through the Superintendent (Operations), the CSU DI and CSU DS’s.

Processes in place to support officers and ensure that they are effectively implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), especially in cases where several procedures may be relevant to particular cases, e.g. where an incident may involve domestic violence, rape and child abuse within a single family

6.27 Wandsworth have identified the need for all the public protection strands to be co located but at this time the MPS estates cannot accommodate this desire. Wandsworth BOCU is still seeking a solution but this project is still at an early stage. It is recognised that if co-located performance could be more cohesively managed, quality of service would be enhanced and risk to families reduced. This would provide the necessary resilience.

6.28 Emphasis is placed on taking positive action and arresting offenders where the opportunities arise. Non-compliance issues such as failure to arrest, not completing a 124D or not completing a risk assessment may then be raised at the Daily Management Meeting and any patterns or trends across teams are shared with the Supt Ops for appropriate action. The CSU DI and DS’s ensure that ongoing DV secondary investigations are progressed within the SOP guidelines. A risk assessment will be completed and an arrest strategy devised to apprehend any outstanding suspects.

6.29 Merlin’s are completed whenever a child comes to police notice. These are circulated via the PPD to the relevant agency to ensure all interested parties are aware of the situation. Where a CAF (Community Assessment Framework - Every Child Matters) exists for a child the Local Authority supplies these details to the PPD (this will be automated when contact point goes live), this ensures that families that have to come to the notice of other agencies are flagged.

6.30 To ensure compliance the CSU / Sapphire DI’s hold regular meetings with the DS’s and standing agenda items include: performance; non-compliance issues; risk management; outstanding suspects. Each DI also hold unit meetings on a regular basis. These meetings facilitate communication, drive performance and maximise policy compliance. Additionally MPS Performance Information Bureau produce weekly performance indicators that are immediately cascaded through Territorial Policing, Violent Crime Directorate to the SMT of every BOCU and then to the respective PPG DI. Any non-compliance issues are quickly identified from these figures and steps taken to address any issues are measured through subsequent weekly performance indicators.

6.31 Where several operating procedures apply to an individual case the Detective Inspector at the originating unit, BOCU or department retains initial responsibility for the case. Liaison then takes place at Detective Inspector level to agree primacy or to adopt a joint investigation. Where agreement cannot be reached the matter is referred to senior managers.

Support to staff/officers who are experiencing domestic violence, and ensuring suspected staff / officer perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence are held accountable for their behaviour

6.32 Wandsworth BOCU applies the corporate policy contained within Police Notice 48/2004, (although this is due to be superseded within the very near future),regarding domestic violence, and Police Notice 48/2008 for rape and serious sexual offences, for all employees of the MPS who are suspects and the positive action policy is strictly adhered to. The Police Code of Conduct expressly identifies the need for officers to act in a professional manner in discharging their official duties so that the public can have faith in our integrity and honesty. It also mentions our duty to prevent and detect crime. MPS staff who are suspects are therefore treated and held accountable as would any other citizen. These instructions are available to all MPS employees through the AWARE/Intranet.

6.33 Investigations are conducted by the relevant CSU or Sapphire Team under the supervision of the Public Protection DCI. The Borough Commanders for the area where the offence took place and where the member of staff works are informed of all such cases. Confidentiality is maintained, the CRIS report is restricted and only relevant line managers informed, where support facilities are put into place, including Occupational Health. When a member of MPS staff is identified as a suspect for domestic violence the CRIS report is flagged ‘PE’. This Borough is unable to provide data due to very low numbers, which may result in the individual being identified.

7. Resources and training

Number of posts (including administrative support) within the CSU and Sapphire Unit, and number of vacant posts. Demographic profile of officers.

7.1 Officers are expected to serve a minimum of one year in the unit. The role is a demanding one, which creates a perception among non-CSU officers that work involves high volume in a field of operation that carries most risk.

7.2 The BOCU are committed to a fully staffed CSU and Sapphire Unit.

7.3 The CSU is staffed by: one Detective Inspector; four Detective Sergeants; 16 DC/TDC/PC’s and one Band E MARAC Coordinator and one Band E support staff. The CSU has a volunteer who assists with administrative tasks.

7.4 The Sapphire Unit is staffed by: one Detective Inspector; two Detective Sergeants; 8 Detectives/Trainee Detective Constables/Police constables one volunteer one day a week who assists with general tasks. In addition there are 5 Police Constables who are dedicated SOIT officers providing 24/7 SOIT cover, currently made up of 2 males and 3 females.

7.5 There are no current vacancies in each department as the Borough has made a commitment to maintain the minimum staffing levels.

7.6 Demographic Profile of staff:

CSU - 23 members of staff, including police staff. 17 (74%) male 6 (26%) female (Currently there are no female Sergeants or Inspectors within the CSU). Ethnicity 19(82%) white 4 (18%) non white This can be broken down further as 2 of the non white officers are black West Indian (2 females) and 2 are Asian (1 male and 1 female)
Sexual orientation is 1 white female officer is LGBT.

Sapphire - 17 members of staff, 9 female (53%) and 8 (47%) male (one female Sergeant). Ethnicity 100% White European. Sexual orientation is 1 white female officer who is LGBT.

Successes and areas for improvement of Public Protection Desk

Successes

7.7 The PPD at Wandsworth has been was set up in June of 2008 and their main responsibility is to identify children at risk, conduct research into the children and their families and pass on the information to the relevant agencies so that action can be taken to safeguard those children. A number of factors have helped the PPD to succeed in their remit:

• Staffing – The PPD is currently staffed to the correct level (1PS and 6 DC/PC’s) to deal with the demands of the role and the volume of work. The PPD has been resourced with experienced officers, which has been invaluable in recognising those cases where children might be at risk and taking the appropriate action to safeguard them.
• Training - all PPD staff have completed a compulsory training course, which has increased their knowledge of their role.
• The PPD has two analysts who help research PACs, who conduct checks of police databases to ensure PACs have been completed where necessary, providing quality assurance.
• The PPD supervisor attends multi-agency meetings with our partners to share information and raise awareness on various matters. This ensures that individuals at risk are well known to all agencies. For example - there is a quarterly meeting between CAIT, Children’s Specialist Services (CSS) and the PPD. PPD meets separately with the CSS to ensure we are working effectively together (which we are). PPD attend the quarterly Police Liaison Meeting to discuss children who go missing from care homes - as well as a number of other Safeguarding Board meetings.
• PPD and CSS have established a staff-swap - where staff from each agency spends half a day at the other agency to get a better understanding of how the whole safeguarding process works and what information each agency finds most useful. This has helped improve the quality of information shared between the PPD and the CSS.
• Although not directly connected to the DSV MPA report Wandworth BOCU have identified areas for improvement in the reporting of children missing from care homes. A review has been carried out in consultation with our partners to ensure risk is managed effectively across Wandsworth.

Areas for improvement

7.8 The work we are undertaking as a partnership within Wandsworth to improve our services is good. The following are areas identified for partnership development within Wandsworth and are currently being developed:

• Mutual understanding of risk assessment and management
• Clarity of roles and responsibilities (understanding one another’s business)
• Improvement in communication and information feedback
• Empowering staff to challenge and ensuring that there is a readily identifiable and timely appeals process
• Need to develop a joint performance management framework
• Develop joint problem solving around child protection issues
• Joint training

Adults at Risk Policy

7.9 There is a corporate policy regarding the definition of an adult at risk, which has been weaved into the joint BOCU and Social services policy. When Social Services deal with any incidents falling within this definition, they contact the Police to inform them and the incident will be dealt with as a safeguarding matter - a crime report will be completed as appropriate and dealt with by the CSU. The PPD have one member of staff who is dedicated to dealing with adults at risk.

Interchangeable and transferable training for Domestic Violence and Sapphire Team officers:

7.10 All CSU officers during their attachment will receive the one-week CSU course presented at the Crime Academy. Courses are available for ‘Achieving Best Evidence’ related specifically to CSU officers. There is also an advanced ABE course for staff who investigate incidents with adults who are considered at risk. Several officers currently working on DSV have undertaken the DC Foundation course consisting of elements covering both area of work.

7.11 The DSV teams have a balanced mix of skills, experience and knowledge which they share. There is a team of dedicated SOIT’s, who provide 24/7 cover supported by the team SOIT’s. The dedicated SOIT’s are managed by a Detective Sergeant within the Sapphire unit but has responsibility for all SOIT’s across the Borough. The SOIT’s are subjected to a mandatory annual OH screening process. The Sergeant arranges regular attachments for the non dedicated SOIT’s, to ensure consistency and up to date training, across the Borough. The Sapphire team are currently delivering training to all the response teams regarding initial actions at the scene of a sexual assault, in particular to forensic considerations and victim care (immediate SOIT deployment).

Police officer training on a) Child protection b) ‘Honour’-based violence and forced marriage c) Stalking and harassment d) Victim care

7.12 The CSU 5 day course syllabus relating to Domestic Violence highlights that officers must be able to: Professionally investigate allegations of domestic violence when children form part of the domestic environment; Recognise and understand the impact of cross-cultural communication on police community interactions; Identify the ingredients of civil legislation and family law that has an impact on work within a CSU; and deal appropriately with Honour Based Violence.

7.13 All partners involved in the MARAC (including police) received the first stage MARAC implementation training from Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA), in June 2008. The second stage of implementation training took place in March 2009.

7.14 All officers on the Borough have received Every Child Matters training, which includes child protection issues. It is also an element of Detective Constable’s training.

7.15 Honour based violence and forced marriage now features on both the CSU and DC course and training inputs have been delivered at CID training days to all officers. HBV and FM has been a training agenda item for Supervisors across the Borough, in particular identifying the risks associated with this area of policing.

7.16 Stalking and harassment are covered on the DC’s course although not exclusively to DV cases. The SOP is comprehensive and copies of all harassment notices sent are retained in the CSU.

7.17 Victim care is integral to all relevant courses including the CSU, SOIT and DC’s, FLO and ABE course.

7.18 Good use is made of the CSU Delivery Team website which contains a comprehensive library of policy and SOPS.

Percentage of officers and staff currently trained

7.19 CSU - There are 23 members of staff within the CSU (1 DI, 4 DS’s and 16 PC/TDC/DC’s & 2 Police staff). Of the 16 constables 8 (50%) have had the CSU course. This is work in progress and efforts are being made to improve access to this valuable and useful course. 8 (50%) members of the team have attended a Detective foundation course. 12 (75%) of the 16 have either attended an ABE course or advanced ABE course.

7.20 Sapphire - There are 17 members of staff within the Sapphire Unit (1 DI, 3 DS’s and 13 PC/TDC/DC’s). The officers (including part-time) have the following skills: DC Foundation or equivalent - 11 (64%) ; SOIT - 6 (35%) ; ABE Interviewing - 9 (52%); Advanced ABE - 1 (6%) and FLO - 1 (6%)

Equipment and training available to support officers to collect the best evidence at the crime scene at the time of response

7.21 To support initial evidence gathering, all response vehicles are equipped with form 124Ds and ICEFLO cameras for immediate evidence capture, ensuring that the scene and any injuries are photographed. The CSU also have access to a digital camera. This provides early tangible evidence to the investigator, which can be used during interview, and provides evidence upon which the CPS can charge.

7.22 SOIT packages containing swabs, seat covers and Early Evidence Kit is readily available for all frontline officers although swabs can be used independently where appropriate e.g. swabbing bite marks or injuries. SOCO’s (Scenes of Crimes Officers) provide excellent investigative support on a 24 hour basis and photographic branch can be utilised where superior evidential products are required.

7.23 The Borough Forensic Manager provides regular inputs to training day. Additionally the current training cycle is aimed at primary investigation, scene management and the capture of evidence. The training is mandatory for all uniformed officers, including PCSO’s and Safer Neighbourhood Teams. New joiners to the service, including re-joiners, receive domestic violence training at training school.

Training delivered in partnership with the community

7.24 All relevant partners are MARAC trained.

7.25 CSU and LGBT Liaison Officers have attended a presentation on issues faced by Transgender people to raise awareness in dealing with crimes/incidents.

7.26 There is also an ongoing joint training programme surrounding the issues facing “adults at risk”, which is led by the CSU Sergeant.

Wandsworth NHS Primary Care Trust Training

7.27 Having identified a gap in domestic violence awareness amongst health care professionals, Wandsworth CSU has worked closely with other agencies in order to plan and deliver a series on one day workshops to PCT staff. The workshops include presentations on MARAC, child protection, civil and criminal law and the physical and psychological impact of DV on survivors and their children. A survivor of domestic violence is also invited to participate so that their views are represented. The feedback from these workshops has been overwhelmingly positive and they will continue to be delivered in the future.

8. Partnership working and Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP)

Overall budget of the CDRP and proportion dedicated to tackling domestic and sexual violence from within this figure.

8.1 To calculate the exact figure spent by the CDRP would be very difficult to establish as it would require all partners within the CDRP to calculate what part of their staff hours are devoted to domestic violence. For the Police alone, for example, the DCI and C/I Partnership spend time working on DV and child related violence, but also have many other portfolio areas of business.

8.2 Currently 2.5 DV Advocates are employed by Victim Support, which are financed from the BCU fund at a cost of £47,580 per annum.

8.3 Police resources committed to the investigation of DV are outlined above.

Domestic and sexual violence as part of the annual Strategic Assessment and as a priority within the Partnership Plan.

8.4 Below are local commitments and performance indicators to reduce violent crime and protect vulnerable people – all are directly relevant to supporting victims of domestic violence in Wandsworth:

CDRP’s Partnership Plan 2009-2012

8.5 One of the strategic priorities for the CDRP is to reduce serious violent crime.

Children’s and Young Person’s Plan 2008-11

8.6 One of the strategic objectives is to “Improve the effectiveness of collaborative working between agencies, services and professions to safeguard children and young people.

The Wandsworth strategy for Older People 2008-13

8.7 Highlights the need to protect vulnerable adults this includes abuse from family.

Domestic Violence Housing Policy Statement and Strategy

• In this report the Housing Department states that it believes that “The safety and empowerment of those experiencing domestic violence should always be the priority in any response” and “Preventative strategies should be an integral part to our response to domestic violence.”

Local Area Agreement (LAA) Reward Target

a) 8.8 Domestic violence is part of the Reward targets included in the Wandsworth LAA that took effect on 1st April 2007 and will last until March 2010. In terms of LAA reward targets, we have secured £484,795 (subject to audit). Reward Grant is paid in 2 instalments- first half in 2010/11 and second half 2011/12.

CDRP domestic and / or sexual violence projects in progress

8.8 There are no other current projects other than progressing and improving the MARAC and One Stop Shop, which have been referred to throughout this document.

Work in partnership with voluntary and statutory sector agencies locally. Particularly successful partnerships and possible reasons for this.

8.9 The Wandsworth Safety Net (WSN) provides on going support to adult victims of DV. WSN is based in the Community Safety Unit of the Police and currently has 2.5 Independent Domestic Advisers (IDVA’s) providing the support services. In the last financial year Victim support received 2,419 domestic violence referrals. They are recruited and supported by Victim Support.

Elements of Effective Partnership

• A cost-effective and much needed specialist service which reduces the financial implications of domestic violence for all statutory service providers in the borough
• Holistic approach to all aspects of domestic violence including for secondary victims and witnesses of honour based violence (HBV) and inter family violence
• Reduction in repeat victimisation, reduction in the number of children ‘at risk,’ an increase in victims’ safety by risk identification and safety planning, assisting victims through the Criminal Justice System
• Partnership activities to reduce repeat victimisation including the Domestic Violence Forum, Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)
• Awareness of support services available – victims are empowered to take control of their lives
• Proactive links with Victim Support’s Witness Services and the specialist domestic violence courts to ensure continuity of support from initial point of contact through to post trial

The funding of the posts in the WSN has to be established for 2010/11 onwards.

Domestic Violence Forum and Steering Group

8.10 The DV Forum is made up of agencies from across the Borough, both statutory and non statutory (including representation from the LGBT, BME, Elder and Disabled community). They are responsible for driving the Borough in its campaign against Domestic Violence.

9. Work with victims and communities

Monitoring and integration of service user satisfaction and feedback

9.1 All the current means of establishing user satisfaction as a victim of crime (User Satisfaction Survey, Public Attitude Survey, Quality Call back survey) excludes specifically offences flagged as DV and sexual offences, because of their sensitivity which makes this kind of surveying inappropriate. Victims do not receive letters at the completion of a case but staff will seek alternative methods of informing survivors, whether by discreet phone calls or through a contact. Contact is recorded on the VCOP page of the CRIS.

Proportion of cases where Victim Impact Statements are taken

9.2 The CSU routinely takes Victim Impact Statements from survivors of DSV, particularly those involving life changing injuries, for example GBH. Such statements are also taken from vulnerable adults; however, it is common practice to include an impact statement within the body of an ABE (Achieving Best Evidence) interview.

9.3 The Sapphire Teams protocol is to take an early statement from the victims by a specially trained SOIT officer. This does include the impact the sexual assault has had on the victim. If the case is one where the Crown Prosecution Service has authorised a prosecution and an offender is charged, a full and more detailed impact statement is taken.

Ensuring that victims are provided with regular updates on cases and informed quickly of any changes or decisions (particularly those which may impact on their safety e.g. release on bail)

9.4 Victims of serious sexual violence are kept updated by SOIT officers who are all full-time staff dedicated to this specific role and are not distracted with other duties. They are therefore able to concentrate on providing victim care, access to support services, act as a point of contact and a communications conduit between the investigators and the victim. As a matter of course they ensure victims are updated on a regular basis; this would include any updates regarding bail as stated in the question. The Detective Sergeant monitors compliance with this by carrying out 7 day reviews on all current investigations. Any gaps are quickly and easily identified and remedial action taken.

9.5 Domestic Violence survivors are regularly updated by the investigators themselves with an entry made on the CRIS report utilising the VCOP page. This is checked, monitored and reviewed by rigorous supervision of the CRIS by 1st and 2nd line Supervisors during 7 day reviews and is further monitored by the Daily Management Meeting to ensure that appropriate action is taken. Also see Victim Focus unit below.

Ensuring compliance with the Victims Code of Practice

9.6 The Victim Focus Unit based at Battersea Police Station has a staff of 5 VPCSO’s. It is supervised within the Crime Management Unit and monitors all crimes occurring on this borough. The unit ensures compliance with:

• Referrals to Victim Support Service in conjunction with the CMU
• Ongoing Monthly contact with Victims
• Informing the victim of suspects arrest, release or charge and closure of unsolvable crime
• Informing the victim of any non court disposal, (cautions etc)
• The MPS scorecard details B/OCU performance each week. This publication is monitored by the SMT, the Partnership lead and the MIU provide monthly performance figures at the SMT. For Example the July 09 Figures stand at: VSS Referral within time limit (2days) 90% compliance; Victim updated within time limit 95%; Arrest of Suspect 76%; Suspect Charged 59%; Non Court Disposal 64%; Suspect released 64%.These figures relate to all crime.

Building trust and confidence with hard-to-reach communities, particularly around sensitive cultural issues such as forced marriages and ‘honour’ based violence
Wandsworth Borough lead on HBV & Forced Marriages.

9.7 Wandsworth has gone some way to building the trust of the community by ensuring that SNT staff and response teams are aware of the cultural issues through training. However we are not complacent and recognise that more needs to be done. Staff seek ways to engage with the community through SNT meetings, DV Forum and one stop shop. Partnership members are encouraged to engage and identify vulnerable persons, who may be at risk and deal with them sensitively and appropriately. A Detective Sergeant has been given the role of actively trying to market and promote the Wandsworth BOCU robust stance around this issue. Training has been delivered to front line staff and supervisors.

9.8 Monitoring service user satisfaction and/or seeking feedback from victims /survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and integrating any improvements into policy and practice

10. Organisational improvement

Recommendations from homicide reviews / serious case reviews and implementation.

10.1 There have been three homicide reviews in this period. Upon receiving the final report the recommendations were weaved into the action plan, which is regularly reviewed. The recommendations can be summarised as follows:

• Review of information sharing protocol amongst partners.
• Review of risk identification mechanisms and subsequent on going risk assessments.
• Ensure that the Borough avoids silo working with multiple investigations and victims, for example appointing a SPOC for repeat victims.
• Improve front line and secondary supervision around risk identification

Where there have been cases of ‘honour’-based Violence, has the HBV Action Plan proved fit for purpose? If not, how could it be improved? ‘Honour’-based Violence Action Plans - fitness for purpose

10.2 We have forged very good working relationships with partners and through the DV Forum have delivered training and understanding around the issues, with a view to improving early warning points and information sharing, which is predominantly done through the MARAC. There have been some good successes of locating survivors in Pakistan with use of the FM unit with the Foreign office. The Borough has recorded 12 incidents for this period. Work is on going to tackle perceived under reporting.

Examples of good practice and learning opportunities

10.3 Wandsworth BOCU operates a fast track offender management with the recent introduction of the Offender Management Unit. There work and priorities have become an agenda item on the daily intelligence unit, feeding into the DMM to action key arrests. The OMU have been introduced to identify high risk individuals and to Remove, Avoid or Reduce the risks to potential victims of violence.

10.4 Suspects of DV are circulated on the PNC within 48hrs if arrest enquires have been unsuccessful.

10.5 Introduction of dedicated intelligence product for sexual offences, which has enhanced the Boroughs capabilities to react to series and trends fast time.

10.6 The Borough has an excellent working relationship with the local CPS branch. They have introduced a Bi weekly Sapphire clinic and are looking at the possibility of a dedicated DV CPS clinic.

What single improvement do the BOCU think the Metropolitan Police Service could make which would greatly improve the response to a) domestic and b) sexual violence locally?

10.7 DV performance and survivor confidence would be improved if each area had a DV specialist court. Experience has shown that survivors find the court process daunting but this would be improved if judicial system could demonstrate a more cohesive approach towards DV prosecutions.

10.8 The MPS needs to continue to work with CPS direct to ensure that there is consistency in decision making around the threshold tests for sexual violence.

What do you think the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board and its Members could do to help or support the (B)OCU in dealing with domestic and/or sexual violence?

• Support Wandsworth in its bid to for one single site for all aspects of public protection.
• Change the performance structure and give the CPS and MPS one joint target to encourage a stronger working partnership ethos. One conviction rate target to be set rather than, arrest, detection for police and conviction rate for the CPS.

11. Equality and diversity statement

11.1 Domestic violence is widespread throughout every socio-economic group and affects all sections of society irrespective of race, culture, nationality, religion, sexuality, disability, age, class or education level, whilst all our services are open to all, each abused person has a set of unique circumstances which can affect how they respond to the violence. Our staff are aware of these issues and have received training in this area in order to be sufficiently flexible to take account of the individual issues whilst ensuring respective policies are adhered to.

11.2 The BOCU has a team of LGBT Liaison Officers lead and managed by the CSU. They engage with members of the LBGT community through a variety of Forums but most notably through the PSE monthly patrols, which are carried out in conjunction with Lambeth Borough. The patrols on Clapham Common are supported by the local and LGBT community and further supported following the murder of Jodi Dobrowski.

11.3 Each DS, within the CSU, is responsible for performance and training around Race, LGBT and Vulnerable Adults.

Contact details

Report author(s): Mark Cranwell A/DCI Wandsworth BOCU, MPS

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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