PREVENTING REPEATED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT ON MERSEYSIDE

The Home Office Police Research Group (PRG) was formed in 1992 to carry out and manage research in the social and management sciences relevant to the work of the police service and Home Office policy divisions. One of the major police department divisions which acts as customer for the PRG is the Home Office Crime Prevention Unit which was formed in 1983 to promote preventive action against crime. It has a particular responsibility to disseminate information on crime prevention topics. The object of the present series of occasional papers is to present research material in a way which should help and inform practitioners, including the police, whose work can help reduce crime. Foreword This report describes the first stages of an innovator project on Merseyside designed to prevent domestic violence. The research phase of the work, which concentrated upon an analysis of police data, showed that women were repeatedly victimised and that second and subsequent attacks were often carried out fairly soon after the initial incident. These observations led to the development of a rapid response system which involved computer assisted information as officers were dispatched in response to calls. This period of concentrated police attention gave time for the development of preventing packages tailored to individual victim circumstances. Although it is too early to provide a reliable statistical analysis of the initiative, the report provides detailed accounts from the victims which amply illustrate the relief both they and their children experienced as a result of this work. We hope to see more projects of this kind which attempt to reduce the incidence of crime, particularly violent crime, directed at some of the most vulnerable in our communities. of South Yorkshire Police gave generously of his expertise in alarm systems, as did Kevin Avery of Tunstall Telecom. Special thanks go to Leslie Summerfield for her efficient record keeping of alarm issues and returns, activations and responses, and the upkeep of the DEWS database. Finally, we thank Karen Clarke, the Domestic Violence Prevention Worker for continued hard work under extreme pressure.