Restructure of the MPA Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board

Report: 6
Date: 15 January 2009
By: Chief Executive

Summary

The report outlines a proposal to restructure the Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board, which will monitor and scrutinise the performance of the Metropolitan Police Service on domestic violence (including forced marriage and ‘honour’ based violence), rape and sexual assault. This expansion is in keeping with the upcoming mayoral London Violence Against Women Strategy. The Board further aims to support the recognition, improvement and dissemination of best practice across London.

A. Recommendation

That

1.  Members agree the proposal to transform the Domestic Violence Board into a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board.
2. Members agree the draft Terms of Reference and proposed structure for the Domestic and Sexual Violence Board.
3. Members note the Domestic Violence Board Annual Report 2008-09.

B. Supporting information

Context

1. The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) Domestic Violence Board (DVB) was established in 2005, and held its first meeting in April 2006. It is a multi-agency, MPA-owned board with the aim to monitor, scrutinise and support the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) in its response to domestic violence.

2. The Board operates by requesting Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs) to report their response to domestic violence within their borough. Members of the Board, community guests and the public are then invited to discuss the report. The Board has met eight times since its inception, and 12 BOCUs have attended the Board to present their response to domestic violence. In addition, four policy areas were also presented by the MPS Violent Crime Directorate Operational Command Unit.

3. Six BOCUs presented to the board this year and two specific areas of policy were examined; domestic violence and child protection and arrest rates and cautions. Particular BOCUs identified areas of good practice, for example Camden reported a 34% reduction in substantive domestic violence offences, due to a number of combined factors such as investing in partnership working and raising awareness. Others such as Hackney, Kensington and Chelsea, and Camden reported the benefits of use of digital camera technology to capture evidence more efficiently. Representatives from the MPS Violent Crime Directorate are present during each meeting to take away such examples of good practice and to identify where BOCUs need support and development.

4. Several recommendations arising from the Board meetings are proposed in the Annual Report, as outlined below. The Annual Report also includes an outline of the findings of the Board in both the BOCU presentations and the specialist policy areas. The Annual Report is located at Appendix 1.

5. Recommendations from the Annual Report are;

•  Expand upon and disseminate the learning from Domestic Violence Homicide Reviews by producing an annual report on the Reviews with recommendations across the service.
•  Review the performance indicators in terms of ‘what does success look like’ – sanctioned detections are not necessarily the most accurate or appropriate sole measure.
•  Introduce performance indicators on reduction of repeat victimisation, reduction in domestic violence homicides, and reduction in most serious violence in incidents of domestic violence.
• To improve the policy and performance measurement (conviction rate) with respect to ‘victimless prosecutions’.
•  Include performance on domestic violence and other forms of violence against women as part of the assessment process for Borough Commanders.
•  Violent Crime Directorate to ensure greater consistency across London in response to domestic violence.
•  Extend the availability of digital cameras to improve evidence capture to all 32 boroughs
•  Increase the frequency of pan-London Operation Athena days to quarterly.
•  Violent Crime Directorate to explore implementing the recommendations from the Kingston problem profile and Kensington and Chelsea CSU report into forced marriage and so-called ‘honour’ based violence.
•  Funding from the MPS to specialist domestic violence services to be for a minimum of 2 years

6. Annual questionnaires are sent to Members, guests, and BOCUs who have attended over the previous year. These seek feedback on the successful and less successful areas of the boards’ work and invite suggestions for improvement. Responses to this year’s questionnaires were positive of the Boards work and overwhelmingly supportive of the expansion of the Board as outlined below. Feedback and recommendations were also received on how the Board could be more efficient, particularly in the areas of communication with BOCUs and follow up on action points.

7. On 25 November 2008 the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced the development of a London Violence Against Women Strategy. The strategy is designed to prevent and reduce violence against women in the capital and have a positive impact on service provision. In order to appropriately ensure that the MPA is supporting the implementation of the strategy and to oversee the MPS response not only to domestic abuse but sexual violence, it follows that the DVB will expand its remit to include sexual violence. It is proposed that the Domestic Violence Board will become a Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (DVSB). Like the Mayoral Strategy, it is proposed that the Board focus on domestic and sexual violence as the two main areas of interest, with particular issues such as forced marriage or the use of sexual violence within gangs to fall under these two headings.

 Proposed structure

8. At an interim meeting of Board members held in December 2008 it was recognised that the borough level scrutiny plays a key role on the success of the Board, and the structure of the Board should retain this element at its core. However it was also noted that the recommendations to BOCUs for development of services were often similar throughout the year, and scope to raise a particular policy or practice issue with the Violent Crime Directorate in a closed session could also form part of the annual work plan.

9. It is proposed that the Domestic & Sexual Violence Board (DSVB) meets bi-monthly, to allow for a more rapid coverage of boroughs. To facilitate this and to support the inclusion of voluntary sector members and guest attendance, it is proposed that the Board reduce the length of the meetings , whilst retaining the current focus of borough scrutiny, as only 12 of the 32 London boroughs have presented to the board to date.

10. Within the annual cycle, one full meeting will be set aside for two ‘themed’ or specialist focus meetings instead of two borough presentations. This may take the form of a seminar on a particular element of domestic and sexual violence such as female genital mutilation or forced marriage. Opportunities will also be made available for time limited sub-groups to focus on specialist areas in addition to the scheduled Board meetings. An outline of the proposed structure can be found at Appendix 2.

11. Feedback from questionnaires has indicated that the Board could use the expertise of the members to more effectively support the improvement of service delivery. This would be achieved by inviting BOCUs to submit a particular problem around which they are hoping to improve their response to domestic and/ or sexual violence and allow the board to discuss possible solutions.

12. Dissemination of best practice and support of organisational learning might be improved by utilising existing mechanisms such as the MPS internal Crime Control Strategy Meeting best practice website. Similarly an annual best practice seminar and/or a bulletin for MPS, MPA, and member organisations could support sharing of local best practice across the 32 boroughs.

13. To facilitate these changes and the inclusion of sexual violence in the remit of the board it is proposed that the terms of reference, commissioning brief, and annual work plan are altered to reflect the new direction of the Board. Proposed draft terms of reference can be found at Appendix 3.

 Membership of the Board

14. Membership of the Board will have to be reviewed in light of an expanded remit. It is proposed that membership include a representative from a sexual violence service such as the Havens , and a pan-London domestic and sexual violence voluntary service such as Eaves for Women.

15. The Board currently does not have a representative from a specialist agency working with Black and Minority Ethnic and Refugee (BMER) communities, a role which could be undertaken by a well-established organisation such as Southall Black Sisters . To ensure that the focus of the Board includes the victimisation of men it is proposed a specialist male victims’ organisation such as Men’s Advice Line is represented on the board. Finally, a senior representative from the health service is proposed.

C. Race and equality impact

1. It is understood that additional barriers affect victims from BMER communities, such as language barriers and lack of access to public funds. Whilst it is recognised that domestic and sexual abuse affects males, both issues disproportionately impact on females as victims , particularly those issues which often have cultural implications such as so-called ‘honour’ based violence and female genital mutilation. It has been proposed that Board members and invited guests representing these communities ensure scrutiny over such issues.

2. Initial research commissioned by the MPS Diversity Board showed disproportionality in the MPS response to domestic abuse across a number of diversity strands. It is proposed that this work be carried over into the new DSVB and that specific information on diversity be requested through the commission process.

D. Financial implications

1. Recognising the importance of this work, the MPA now has a dedicated Gender Based Violence Officer, part of whose role is to support the Board.

2. Previous costs of the DVB were as follows:

Previous Cost of DVB (Nov 2007 – Nov 2008)

3. The impact of expanding the remit of the Board will have some implications on financial and human resources. In terms of human resources, these will be met by the officer with specific responsibility in the area of gender-based violence. Financial implications will include possible higher catering costs for six meetings instead of four. However this will be offset by the minutes being taken in-house rather than externally.

4. Estimated costs for a DSVB are as below;
Catering £1,800
Attendee expenses £500
TOTAL £2,300

E. Background papers

• MPA Domestic Violence Board, 6 October 2005
• Domestic Violence Board Annual Report 2006 - 07

F. Contact details

Report author(s): Lynne Abrams, Gender-based Violence Officer, MPA

For information contact:

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

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