Domestic Abuse: Improving Police Response to Domestic Abuse

In 2021, the police recorded nearly 1.5 million domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. This data only provides part of the picture though, as domestic abuse cases are often not reported to the police.

Roy Wilsher MBE became the Lead for Domestic Abuse at Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in October 2021 and has since focused his priorities on improving the police response to domestic abuse. He intends to build on the work already done by HMICFRS, which includes an annual review of how domestic abuse is approached by police forces.

In this session, Roy shared some of the recent findings from the inspection commissioned by the Home Secretary into the Police response to violence against women and girls. From the findings, he highlighted inconsistencies in police forces’ response to domestic violence and recommends a whole system approach to domestic violence; an approach where the police work together with partners to provide the best possible support to survivors of domestic abuse.

In the year ending March 2021, the police recorded nearly 1.5 million domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes. Roy Wilshire, Lead for Domestic Abuse, HM Inspector of Constabulary and HM Inspector of Fire Services shared the latest findings from the inspection on how police forces have responded to recent cases of violence against women and girls and how the police can improve.