Domestic and Sexual Violence Board publishes final report:five years of retrospective of monitoring, scrutinising and supporting the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) performance and response to domestic and sexual violence

32/11
12 July 2011

The Metropolitan Police Authority has published the final report of the Domestic and Sexual Violence Board providing a five year retrospective of monitoring, scrutinising and supporting the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) performance and response to domestic and sexual violence.

Over the past five years he MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board (DSVB) has assessed the police response to domestic and sexual violence in each of London’s 32 boroughs, identified best practice and made recommendations for improvement.

The DSVB has influenced and supported change locally and regionally, from sharing good practice identified across the whole capital to challenging the whole MPS to access feedback from victims of domestic and sexual violence. Moving forward, the challenge will be to maintain a focus on these important themes and ensure learning continues.

Co-chair of the DSVB, Valerie Brasse, said:

“I feel privileged to have been able to lead the Domestic and Sexual Violence Board, with my co-chair Kirsten Hearn, and to have helped drive through real improvements in the police response to domestic and sexual violence crimes against women in London. The board has proved an excellent example of genuine partnership work that is both supportive of, but also willing to challenge and cajole where necessary, colleagues in the MPS to deliver service improvement where it matters most – on the front line.

“An invaluable part of this process has been the willing participation, in an open and public forum, of members of the local community prepared to question the service they receive and to help shape improvements. I am grateful to fellow members of the board who have brought the benefit of their enormous experience in this field to bear on our proceedings. And I am grateful too for the continued co-operation and willingness to listen and learn of London’s police, both within the local command structure and central operational command units. It is my sincerest hope that with the transfer of  policing accountability to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, the listening and learning will be sustained at the highest level so that violence against women and girls is properly addressed and resourced as the priority it has so clearly become.”

The DSVB has examined the response of every one of London’s 32 boroughs response to domestic and sexual violence, after which a bespoke action plan was devised. Numerous successes have been accomplished, including:

• in Lewisham a South London seminar raised awareness of the role of MPS Sapphire teams and other agencies in combating elder abuse, attended by representatives from Safeguarding Adults, sexual violence support services and the police . This was so successful other elder abuse seminars will now be conducted across other regions of London.
• in Kingston, best working practices to combat hate crime identified by the DSVB between the Community Safety Units and local Safer Neighbourhoods teams were shared across the entire capital via Territorial Policing; and
• the DSVB has made corporate recommendations to the MPS which most recently have resulted in a pilot project in Wandsworth and Newham getting feedback from victims of domestic violence about the police service.

Notes to Editors

1. The MPA Domestic Violence Board launched in 2006, and expanded in 2009 to include sexual violence.

2. The MPA Domestic and Sexual Violence Board agenda and final report are available on the MPA website at: www.mpa.gov.uk/dsvb/2011/0713/

3. All reports received by the DSVB are available online at www.mpa.gov.uk/dsvb

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