MPA overview of MPS domestic violence performance

Report: 8
Date: 10 June 2010
By: Chief Executive

Summary

This report provides Members with a overview of MPS recording of and performance on domestic violence, using data from 2009-10 and 2008-09. The data includes numbers of incidents and offences of domestic violence, serious sexual offences within a domestic violence context, sanction detection rates, volume of cautions and numbers of forced marriage cases and so-called ‘honour’ based violence cases. Diversity data of victim and accused is also explored.

The report explores performance by exception for the 32 Borough Operational Command Units (BOCU), and identifies trends and developments Met-wide. The report also draws upon findings from the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board where relevant.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the paper.

That Members support the recommendation that a flag is created for cases of repeat domestic violence so that the MPS can capture accurate data on repeat cases.

B. Supporting information

Background and volume of recorded domestic violence

1. The MPS adhere to the ACPO and Home Office definition of domestic violence which is; "Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality." It should be noted that this definition excludes those under 18, so teenagers in abusive relationships are not captured, nor are children within abusive households.

2. Domestic violence cases are investigated by officers within Community Safety Units (CSUs). Members will be aware that there is no offence of domestic violence, though offences commonly committed and flagged as domestic violence are across a range of violent and sexual offences from Common Assault, ABH, GBH, sexual assaults and rape, to homicide. There have been cases where mental and emotional abuse has been successfully prosecuted as a violent crime, but this is exceedingly rare. It is commonly accepted that domestic violence forms a pattern of abuse, and is a high volume, high risk area of business for the MPS. In the last financial year there have been 24 domestic homicides, and 26 [1] in 08/09.

3. In the financial year 2009-2010, the MPS recorded 119, 878 incidents of domestic violence across London, an increase of 6, 982 on the previous financial year. Of these incidents, 51, 809 were recorded as offences, over 1000 less than in the previous year, when 52, 910 offences were recorded. So 46% of all reported incidents were recorded as crimes in 08/09, and 43% in 09/10.

4. Broken down borough by borough in 09/10, this conversion rate varies considerably, from 923 offences from 2807 incidents (32%) in Camden to 2092 offences from 4030 incidents (51%) in Brent. What this means locally for Sanction Detections is interesting; Camden’s Sanction Detection (SD) rate is 53%; Brent’s is 38%.

5. This variation across boroughs has been noted by the MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board and introducing more consistency across boroughs for the conversion rate was a recommendation of the DSVB Annual Report 2009-10. The MPS responded to this and other recommendations with an action plan in April 2010, which will be reviewed in November.

6. Boroughs with the highest volume of domestic violence incidents and offences in 09/10 were Croydon with 5790 incidents and 2561 offences, followed by Lewisham. The lowest volume borough was Richmond with 1474 incidents and 631 offences followed by Kingston. This followed broadly the same pattern as in 08/09, with Southwark also recording a high volume of domestic violence in both years. Overall, there were 175,039 offences of violent crime recorded in 09/10, [2] so domestic violence constituted 29% of all reported violent crime in London.

7. The proportion of serious sexual offences [3] (SSOs) recorded as domestic violence is low; 873 in 09/10, or 1% of all offences. This is likely to be partly due to the definition of SSOs, and also as a result of reluctance to report sexual offences. Previous reports to this committee have outlined that approximately a quarter of sex offences [4] are perpetrated within intimate relationships, so there may be some issues around recording practices here. [5]

Sanction Detections and performance measures

8. Sanction Detections across London remained broadly the same, 47% overall in 08/09 and an increase to 48% in 09/10. The MPS met and exceeded its performance objective of a 46% SD rate. The highest SD rate in 09/10 was achieved by Westminster at 60%, followed by Richmond on 59% SD rate. The lowest SD rate was in Brent; 38%, followed by Harrow and Hammersmith and Fulham on 43%.

9. Members know that a Sanction Detection is a criminal justice disposal, which includes court outcomes as well as cautions. The proportion of cautions within the SD rate is high; 51% in 08/09 and 48% in 09/10. That’s 23% of all domestic violence offences that are reported.

10. In 09/10, Newham had an SD rate of 47%, of which 55% are cautions. Westminster’s SD rate includes 51% cautions. At the other end of the scale, Barnet had an SD rate of 58%, of which 38% are cautions. So there’s no evidence that good SD rates can’t be achieved without a high proportion of cautions. As a result of challenging the use of cautions at the DSVB, the CSU Delivery Unit is undertaking a dip sampling exercise twice a year and have issued new guidance on cautions to CSUs.

11. The guidance on use of cautions in domestic violence cases is clear and states it should be in cases where there have been no prior offences, and perpetrators should not be cautioned more than once. Most of the boroughs who have presented to the DSVB state that in cases where either the victim is unwilling to support a prosecution or for another reason they are unlikely to achieve a court outcome, they would rather caution and have something on record so that if there is a further offence, there is evidence to support a future case going to court.

12. It should also be noted that when boroughs present to the DSVB they often state that one of the things they would change about the performance measures is the focus on sanction detections [6] as the most important measure of performance. The nature of domestic violence being that the bringing of a criminal case against a partner or family member (of whom the victim will inevitably be afraid and at risk of reprisal) is not a simple or even safe decision. Boroughs often state that measures should include the partnership work that supports a victim towards safety, and the victims own assessment of the police response. As a result of this feedback, the MPS Violent Crime Unit has designated feedback from domestic violence victims as a priority for the coming year, and a sub-group of the DSVB has been set up to facilitate the development of a feedback mechanism.

Forced marriage and so-called ‘honour’ based violence

13. The volume of recorded cases of forced marriage (FM) and so-called ‘honour’ based violence (HBV) increased by 86% from 127 cases in 08/09 to 237 in 09/10 (see Appendix One). The greatest increase in recorded HBV and FM was in Lambeth, where one case was recorded in 08/09 and 13 in 09/10. Westminster recorded two cases in 08/09 and 13 in 09/10.

14. The Borough with the highest recorded volume of FM and HBV in 09/10 is Southwark, with 17 cases (an increase from 6 the previous year), followed by Waltham Forest and Hillingdon with 14 cases each. Waltham Forest presented to the DSVB in June 2010 and did not have a HBV Action Plan. Southwark have an officer who working closely with the ACPO lead on HBV so it is notable that where there is leadership, expertise and focus, a picture appears that may better reflect prevalence.

15. It must be stressed that as this is an area of considerable under-reporting, even more so than intimate [7] domestic violence, it is likely that this overall increase reflects the considerable improvements the MPS have made in reaching out to communities, inspiring confidence to report, and working with partners via mechanisms like Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) to provide a holistic and safer response to victims. The MPS has also learned lessons from high profile cases like that of Banaz Mahmod.

16. However, it should be noted that one of the recommendations from the CSU Service Delivery Unit following that case was that all CSUs devise and implement a HBV Action Plan for the borough. This recommendation is part of the DSVB scrutiny process and we have found that most boroughs that present do not have an HBV Action Plan on borough. It is likely that if this trend continues this will be a future recommendation of the DSVB.

Diversity and disproportionality – victims

17. A total of 52,315 victims are recorded in 09/10, the majority of whom (80%) are female. 18% are male and the remainder are unrecorded. The proportions do not differ from those in 08/09. In terms of ethnicity, [8] in 08/09 the majority (55%) are white European, followed by 24% Afro-Caribbean. Oriental is the category with the fewest victims (1%). 2% remained unrecorded. In 09/10 the same pattern is present; 52% are white European, and 24% Afro-Caribbean, with 1% Oriental. 1% were unrecorded.

18. The data on age groups also shows little variation from year to year; the majority of victims are 18-29 (42% in 08/09 and 41% in 09/10). Data is provided on victims aged 0-17 (3% in both years) but since the definition does not include under 18s these figures must be viewed with caution. Whilst the proportion (3.5% for both years) of victims aged 60+ does not seem to have changed significantly, it should be noted that the MPS DV Homicide Review Annual Report 08/09 noted an increase in domestic homicide against older victims.

19. The proportion of victims with a disability seems to have remained stable too, with approximately 2.5% of victims recorded as having a disability in 08/09 and 09/10, and less than 1% were unrecorded. However research indicates [9] that for women in particular, those with disabilities can be more at risk of domestic violence and are less likely to report it, so activity to support confidence and access to reporting is essential to ensure an accurate picture of prevalence emerges.

20. Data on sexual orientation is woefully under-recorded, and has shown little improvement from 08/09 to 09/10. In both cases, 99.9% of victims’ sexuality was unrecorded. Diversity data is recorded by response officers, and recording of victim (and accused) sexuality is not compulsory, so whilst this is not a performance issue it raises questions about the accuracy and responsivity to London’s LGB and T [10] victims of domestic violence. The MPS is unable to provide a picture of LGB and T domestic violence reporting in London. This has also been evidenced in borough reports to the DSVB and improved recording was a recommendation in the DSVB Annual Report.

Diversity and disproportionality – accused

21. Overall, 12,349 individuals were accused of domestic violence offences in 08/09, falling to 10,929 in 09/10. It is obvious that this data does not show a match with the victim data. Gender of accused for domestic violence shows males form 87% of accused in 09/10, little change from 88% in 08/09.

22. Ethnicity data shows the same patterns as identified in the victim data; that in 08/09 and 09/10, 52% of accused were white European, followed by Afro-Caribbean, and fewest accused were recorded as Oriental. Less than 1% were unrecorded.

23. Disability was fully recorded and followed the same pattern as the victim data; 3.5% of accused in both years were recorded as having a disability. The data of age of accused is also similar as the highest proportion of accused comes from the 18-29 age range (42% in both years), followed by the 30-39 age range (29% in both years). The proportion of older people accused at 60+ was 1.5% for both years, slightly lower than the same proportion for victims.

Conclusion

24. The MPS should be commended on the improvements in domestic violence sanction detection rates and the reduction in cautions in 09/10, especially in an environment when reporting increased. Partnership work developed and there is evidence of better recording of HBV and FM. The MPS has also demonstrated an openness to the MPA recommendations on accessing feedback from victims of domestic violence, and this can only serve to ensure a more responsive and appropriate service to Londoners.

25. A note on what is not represented here. The MPS is unable to provide data on repeat victimisation on a London-wide scale. It is widely established that domestic violence has by far the highest rate of repeat victimisation of all crime types, [11] and this remains constant over time. Repeat offenders are exceedingly common and as noted above, the very nature of domestic violence is usually a pattern of abusive behaviour, rather than a single event.

26. Whilst the MPS has a flag to capture cases of domestic violence, and a flag to capture when an individual has been a repeat victim of an offence, [12] there is no way to identify (without checking the content of each and every report from that individual) whether they were a repeat victim of the same type of offence. Members are therefore invited to consider recommending to the MPS that a flag is created for repeat domestic violence.

C. Race and equality impact

27. Directly arising implications in relation to the data are discussed in the body of the report. Cases of forced marriage and so-called ‘honour’ based violence are most frequently present in South Asian communities, though it should be noted that it is not exclusive to these communities. Nor is it confined to Islam, or any other faith, but recorded across a range of faiths. [13] It is understood that domestic violence is a gendered crime, in that it disproportionately affects women as victims.

28. It is hoped that the shortcomings in relation to recording data on sexuality of victims and accused will be tackled in response to the recommendations in the DSVB Annual Report. If this is not seen to be the case over time Members may wish to continue to scrutinise and challenge this. Should the recommendation of a flag on repeat domestic violence be accepted and implemented by the MPS, this may provide information on differences in domestic violence cases, such as that disabled or older victims, who can be dependent upon their abuser for care, may be more likely to experience repeat victimisations.

D. Financial implications

29. Should Members wish to recommend to the MPS that a flag is created for repeat domestic violence, there may be cost implications for the MPS in the creation of the flag, as well as resource implications in ensuring understanding of its application for officers entering the data, and monitoring compliance with the use of the flag.

E. Legal implications

30. There are no direct legal implications arising, as this is a performance monitoring report.

F. Background papers

• TP Thematic Performance Report – Community Safety Units, SOP Committee, 5 November 2009.

G. Contact details

Report author: Lynne Abrams, Policing Policy Oversight and Scrutiny Unit, MPA

For information contact:

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

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback