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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:54 am
Time: 11:54 am
Results for policing domestic abuse
1 results foundAuthor: Ofer, Nogah Title: Super-complaint : Police failure to use protective measures in cases involving violence against women and girls Summary: Centre for Women's Justice (CWJ) is a charity established in 2016 with the purpose of holding the state to account on its response to violence against women and girls (VAWG). Our Director, Harriet Wistrich, and our two solicitors, are specialists in civil claims against public authorities and public law. In addition to conducting our own strategic litigation we provide training to frontline organisations in the women's sector on failures around VAWG in the criminal justice system and the legal remedies available to address them. We also provide legal advice to frontline organisations and members of the public in individual cases involving policing and prosecution of VAWG. This super-complaint draws together failures by the police to utilise four separate legal protections that exist for the benefit of vulnerable people experiencing domestic abuse, sexual violence, harassment and stalking, the overwhelming majority of whom are women and girls. Whilst we analyse the circumstances surrounding each of these legal powers, it is important to appreciate the cumulative effect of these widespread failings, which together amount to a systemic failure on the part of the state to provide protection for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Use of these powers can prevent serious harm and a lack of response by police creates impunity, with perpetrators perceiving that there are no repercussions for their actions, and survivors perceiving that nothing happens when policing action is sought and that it is not worth reporting to police. This systemic failure persists despite the Government's avowed determination to address VAWG, since, as Home Secretary, Theresa May launched a Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls in 2010. It also persists some five years after HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMICFRS) published its first thematic report on the policing of domestic abuse in 2014, with subsequent regular progress reports, the latest published only last month. The police service as a whole adopted a "positive action" approach to VAWG in 2008 , yet that has not been reflected in practice on the ground, as identified by HMICFRS in its reports. One in five women killed by a current or former partner in 2017-2018 had been in contact with the police . It appears from the evidence reported by frontline women's services, that lack of protection for women is on the increase, partly resulting from a lack of understanding of abuse by police officers so that available powers are not properly utilised, and partly due to under-resourcing of police forces. We shall consider these factors in more detail below. Not only is there a political and policy failure by the state to effectively tackle a social ill acknowledged to be of epidemic proportions (see statistics at page 9 below) but also a failure to meet the state's legal duties under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Our legal analysis below sets out the law around the state's positive obligations to protect the right to life (Article 2), prevent inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 3) and enforce respect for private and family life (Article 8). When the policing of VAWG is compared to that of other crime types, these breaches are clearly discriminatory, impacting disproportionately on women and girls (Article 14). We are concerned that the real hurdles to effective action to protect women from violence, abuse and coercion are not being tackled, and that despite the efforts devoted to it, the Domestic Abuse Bill will not produce the desired protection. The problems we see are not a lack of legal powers or a need for broad legislative change (though some changes in the law are identified in this super-complaint) but a failure to utilise existing legal powers. This seems to be due to the low priority accorded to VAWG, lack of training and effective supervision, a failure to apply deterrent sanctions on officers who disregard these duties, and chronic under-funding of frontline policing of VAWG. There seems little purpose in adding a Domestic Violence Protection Order to the statute books to lie unused, when similar existing orders are not being utilised. Outline of this report -- The four protective measures addressed in this super-complaint are: 1. Failure to impose bail conditions: a. Where suspects are interviewed following voluntary attendance and bail cannot be used; b. Where suspects are interviewed under arrest, release under investigation without bail, or release on bail without bail conditions; c. Where bail is not extended beyond 28 days 2. Failure to arrest for breach of non-molestation orders; 3. Failure to utilise Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Domestic Violence Protection Orders; 4. Failure to apply for restraining orders at conclusion of criminal proceedings; We shall briefly outline the wider picture on policing of VAWG, and then examine each of the four protective measures separately, and for each consider: - The view from the frontline - Information from other sources (where available) - The response of oversight bodies - CWJ's analysis and recommendations for action. Details: London: Centre for Women's Justice, 2019. 51p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 2, 2019 at: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aa98420f2e6b1ba0c874e42/t/5c91f55c9b747a252efe260c/1553069406371/Super-complaint+report.FINAL.pdf Year: 2019 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5aa98420f2e6b1ba0c874e42/t/5c91f55c9b747a252efe260c/1553069406371/Super-complaint+report.FINAL.pdf Shelf Number: 155615 Keywords: Domestic ViolencePolice ResponsePolicing Domestic AbuseProtection OrdersRestraining OrdersViolence Against Women, Girls |