MPA Domestic Violence Board

Report: 11
Date: 6 October 2005
By: the Clerk and the Commissioner

Summary

This report submits a proposal to establish a MPA-owned multi-agency board which can monitor and scrutinise MPS performance on domestic violence; highlight best practice and innovation, and support the MPS to identify solutions to improving performance in keeping survivors safe and holding perpetrators to account.

A. Recommendations

That

1. Members agree the proposal for an MPA Domestic Violence Board to oversee MPS performance in relation to domestic violence.
2. Members agree that the first meeting should coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence (see Appendix 2) between the International Day Against Violence Against Women (25.11.05) and the International Day of Human Rights (10.12.05).

B. Supporting information

Context

1. Over 110,000 incidents of domestic violence were reported to the MPS last year. Of these, only just over 19% were brought to justice. Further, one quarter of all murders in London are as a result of domestic violence.

2. Given the incidence, prevalence and seriousness of domestic violence, the MPA has an important responsibility to ensure that this pattern of crime, which affects women disproportionately, is tackled appropriately and robustly.

3. This paper proposes that the MPA establish a MPA-owned structure, supported by other agencies, to monitor and scrutinise MPS performance on domestic violence, giving members the space to focus on borough, in addition to corporate, performance.

4. The MPS works according to the Home Office definition of domestic violence:

“Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults [18 or over] who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality [sic.]. This includes issues of concern to black and minority ethnic communities such as so called ‘honour killings’.”

5. The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, given Royal Assent on 15th November 2004, has highlighted the issue and importance of tackling domestic violence. The Act strengthens police powers creating a power of arrest for common assault and makes breaches of civil protection orders an arrestable offence.

6. Women’s safety and the delivery of police services to women is a cross-cutting priority in the MPA / MPS Policing and Performance Plan 2005/06 and states a target of 27% sanction detections [1] of domestic violence related crime. This reflects a national priority included in the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF) [2].

7. A structure to focus specifically on domestic violence supports the MPA in its work towards its corporate strategy priority:

“Monitor MPS progress towards cultural change in the delivery of policing services, through strengthened oversight of race and diversity targets.”

A domestic violence-specific structure would enable members to drill down to borough-level, highlight any inconsistencies and provide opportunities for sharing good practice.

8. There are already a number of examples of borough-based work that the MPA is either leading, or involved in e.g. the London-wide Race Hate Crime, borough visits through the MPA Chair and proposed thematic visits to boroughs by the Authority’s lead on stop and search. An MPA Domestic Violence Board would contribute to this positive ripple-effect across the Authority’s work.

MPS-focused work on Domestic Violence

9. Project Umbra is an MPS led initiative under the strategic lead of Commander Ian Delbarre, commissioned by the London Criminal Justice Board.

10. Project Umbra is a response to the recognition of the pervasive effects of domestic violence on society. Its vision is to stop the violence and hold offenders to account whilst its aims are to improve service delivery across all sectors involved in domestic violence by co-ordinating a range of options available to both victims and offenders.

11. Project Umbra draws together much of the work currently being undertaken by the Community Safety Unit Service Delivery Team (Racial and Violent Crime Task Force) in response to domestic violence and related issues e.g. forced marriage and other ‘honour based violence’ crimes.

12. Project Umbra is a major initiative that requires multi-agency commitment across all sectors but will result in fundamentally changing and enhancing the inter-agency response to domestic violence in the capital.

13. Project Umbra has been in development for almost a year and following widespread consultation with partner agencies five key areas of work have been identified:

• Strand 1 - Improving performance and data sharing
• Strand 2 – Advocacy and support to victims
• Strand 3 – Children in DV households
• Strand 4 – Offender management
• Strand 5 – Integrated laws and courts

14. Multi-agency delivery teams are in place to implement work plans and the individual multi-agency strand groups will start meeting from September 2005.

15. The Project Umbra Programme Board has been established to oversee and monitor each of the strand areas. The Programme Board held its first meeting on 21st July 2005 and meets again on October 18th 2005. However, while the Programme Board will be analysing performance data, there will be limited scope to inspect statistics beyond London-wide rates of detections and sanction detections.

16. During the consultation process for developing Project Umbra, it was proposed that an independent challenge panel be set up to provide a critique of the project’s development and implementation. A MPA Domestic Violence Board would provide this function reinforcing the MPA’s role in monitoring, scrutinising and supporting the MPS in its response to domestic violence and highlighting specific gaps in performance, resource allocation and prioritisation.

Joining up - GLA-focused work on Domestic Violence

17. The first GLA Domestic Violence Strategy was published in 2001. There has been significant progress in improving individual agency and multi-agency response to domestic violence. The strategy also established the London Domestic Violence Forum, which under new proposals would have solely a networking and information sharing role.

18. Project Umbra will form an integral part of the second London Domestic Violence Strategy, currently out for consultation and which will be launched in November 2005.

19. An MPA Domestic Violence Board would complement, not duplicate the work of the London Domestic Violence Forum, by working alongside it as the only mechanism specifically focusing on the performance of the MPS at both corporate and borough level on domestic violence .It will ensure closer links between the GLA and the MPA in their work on tackling domestic violence.

Building on good practice

20. The existing process for monitoring the MPS’ response to domestic violence is through the Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board (EODB) and Planning, Performances and Review Committee (PPRC). EODB has responsibilities to scrutinise the MPS’ response to the range of equality and diversity issues in relation to service delivery, employment practice and community engagement. Part of PPRC’s role is to monitor performance against the Performance and Policing Plan targets and any other performance indicators.

21. An MPA Domestic Violence Board will offer members a mechanism through which it can focus scrutiny and support on the MPS in response to domestic violence.

22. The MPA has established a bank of good practice through the MPA-led London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum, which works specifically to examine borough performance on investigating and responding to racist crime.

23. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will also be a conduit through which the MPA, as a pan-London body, can engage more fully with its partners to raise the profile of domestic violence in the capital. (Please see proposed reporting structure at Appendix 1.

Proposed aims and objectives

24. It is envisaged that the MPA Domestic Violence Board will build on the learning from the London-wide Race Hate Crime Forum but will have a distinct MPA identity.

25. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will adopt a joint and problem solving approach to working with boroughs with an emphasis on offering support and assistance where possible.

26. The suggested aims for the MPA Domestic Violence Board are:

• To monitor, scrutinise and support the MPS in its response to domestic violence
• To secure continuous improvement in the MPS’ response to domestic violence
• To robustly and effectively address the issue of the ‘postcode lottery’ with regard to domestic violence by focusing monitoring and support on the 32 BOCUs, and the MPS as a corporate body monitoring coordination and implementation of policy and practice across the MPS.
• To share and disseminate best practice and innovation across 32 BOCUs.
• To identify needs and gaps highlighted by BOCUs and corporate MPS units and where appropriate ensure these are raised at appropriate and relevant MPA Committees and/or other fora
• To increase trust and confidence in the MPS’ response to domestic violence
• To support the organisation to develop a robust employee domestic violence policy, and ensure its implementation
• To link to other pan-London and/or national domestic violence and related bodies.

Proposed membership

27. It is proposed that the MPA Domestic Violence Board will be co-chaired by Baroness Helena Kennedy and Cindy Butts (Deputy Chair of MPA and lead on gender).

28. Interested members from across the Authority would be invited to take part in the work of the MPA Domestic Violence Board.

29. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will be comprised of senior representation from the following organisations:

• Association of London Government
• GLA Domestic Violence Forum
• Greater London Domestic Violence Project
• Government Office for London
• London Criminal Justice Board
• Refuge
• Women’s Aid

[The above is not prescriptive or exclusive and others may be asked to sit on the MPA Domestic Violence Board as appropriate].

30. While the MPS would not be ‘members’ of the board, in the same way that a MPA member could, the MPS would be warmly welcomed to contribute fully to the work of the Domestic Violence Board.

31. Further, the MPA Domestic Violence Board would want to ensure representation from equality strand specific organisations to ensure that issues are raised and addressed appropriately tackling the experiences of lesbians, disabled women, older and younger women, black and minority ethnic women and women of different religions, beliefs and non-belief. Furthermore, borough-based voluntary and community sector organisations working to support women can be invited for the meeting where their borough is under scrutiny.

32. It is crucial that the MPA Domestic Violence Board takes an holistic approach to domestic violence, recognising the links to other crime types, which may be categorised differently but share a level of ‘read across’. For example, abuse by a carer where the carer is not also a partner, would be categorised as abuse against a vulnerable adult rather than domestic violence. However, given that both crime types are characterised by a breach of trust, it is essential that learning from tackling each dynamic is brought together through the work of the MPA Domestic Violence Board to enhance the police response in both situations.

Proposed way of working

33. It is proposed that the MPA Domestic Violence Board meet bi-monthly and examine four BOCUs in the course of each meeting – two prior to the lunch interval and two following the interval. In this way, the MPA Domestic Violence Board will have an opportunity to examine performance across all 32 boroughs within 18 – 24 months.

34. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will also want the opportunity to examine the MPS strategic response to domestic violence.

35. A template report format will be compiled incorporating the Project Umbra structure and any performance indicators. BOCUs or corporate units will be required to submit reports two weeks prior to the meeting, enabling the board members and communities to have sufficient time to receive and note the contents of the reports. This will enable the MPA Domestic Violence Board to discuss performance in its widest sense and for BOCUs to report back on progress either by written submission or by making a representation at the meeting.

36. There will also be the opportunity for the MPA Domestic Violence Board, on occasion, to raise the profile of the work of agencies around the table, particularly community and voluntary organisations which are working to tackle forms of institutional discrimination embedded in the police response to domestic violence, experienced by different sections of London’s diverse communities.

C. Race and equality impact

While domestic violence is perpetrated against men, as well as by them, women are affected disproportionately. Violence against women continues to perpetuate barriers to equality for women socially, economically and politically. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will ensure that the MPA is promoting equality by working to tackle this most pernicious form of gender inequality. The MPA Domestic Violence Board will also ensure that experiences specific to disabled women, lesbians, black and minority ethnic women, older women, younger women and women of different religions, beliefs and non-belief are recognised, discussed and addressed.

D. Financial implications

£5,000 has been identified from the MPA Race and Diversity Unit budget, which will be used to fund running costs and publicity material in the first year of the project.

E. Background papers

MPA / MPS Policing and Performance Plan 2005/06

F. Contact details

Report author: Yasmin Rehman, Senior Partnerships Consultant, Racial and Violent Crime Task Force, MPS and Hamida Ali, Race and Diversity Unit, MPA.

For more information contact:

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

Appendix 1

MPA Domestic Violence Board

Appendix 1 - diagram (in supporting material) is designed to explain the linkages between the proposed MPA Domestic Violence Board and the range of existing groups tackling domestic violence on a pan-London basis.

The diagram explains that the 32 Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs) would report to the MPA Domestic Violence Board which would feed into EODB, other relevant MPA committees e.g. Planning Performance and Review Committee and Full Authority. In addition to the boroughs, the MPS’ corporate response to domestic violence would also, appropriately, appear before the MPA Domestic Violence Board and as part of this, the work under Project Umbra being led by the MPS would also feed into the work of the MPA Domestic Violence Board.

Project Umbra has been commissioned by the London Criminal Justice Board and so in addition to Project Umbra feeding into the MPA Domestic Violence Board, it also reports to the London Criminal Justice Board. Project Umbra works through five ‘strand’ working groups (Improving Performance and Data Sharing, Improving Advocacy and Support, Children, Offender Management and Integrated Laws and Courts). These five strand working groups report through the Umbra Programme Board to the London Criminal Justice Board.

The Greater London Authority co-ordinates a Domestic Violence Forum which is part of the implementation of the London Domestic Violence Strategy. The second London Domestic Violence Strategy is currently being developed and Project Umbra is part of this strategy. Consequently the Project Umbra Programme Board will also feed into the GLA Domestic Violence Forum.

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