About this page. This page summarises a Domestic Homicide Review published in the Home Office DHR Library. The full report is available at the source link below. Victim and perpetrator names are not included in extracted summaries on this page.

Source · Domestic Homicide Review

St Helens review

CSP: St Helens Published: December 2022 Year of death: 2018 Extracted: 11 recs

Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.

View full report (PDF) ↗ Source: Home Office DHR Library

Summary

The review identified systemic failures in risk assessment, information sharing between agencies, and recognition of coercive control. Opportunities to intervene were missed due to incidents being viewed in isolation and a lack of professional curiosity, compounded by the victim's fear of losing her children if she reported abuse.

Extracted recommendations

11 recommendations pulled from the report

#	Recommendation	Addressed to
15.2	All organisations represented at this Review inform and educate staff about the need to recognise and actively investigate the level of control and coercion present within an intimate relationship.	St Helens Community Safety Partnership \| All agencies represented at the Review
15.3	Education and marketing must take place both nationally and locally. To raise awareness about control and coercion within an abusive intimate relationship and when people choose to avoid reporting incidents to Authorities, to inform them about the wide range of other bodies and pathways which remain open to report incidents of domestic abuse.	St Helens Community Safety Partnership \| Home Office
15.4	When assessing the level of risk that a domestic abuse incident presents do not view the incident in isolation consider instead the context in which that incident and the victim exists. Whilst it is vital that this consideration is made at a local level the Panel believe that the importance of assessing contextual risk would also benefit from future reinforcement by Central bodies.	St Helens Community Safety Partnership \| Home Office
15.5	The Panel acknowledged that within some pockets of the CCG change to deliver a greater level of engagement from G.P. and other Health professionals in taking positive action in risk assessment and information sharing when a patient discloses domestic abuse is required.	St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group
15.6	In order to facilitate effective risk assessment organisations must acknowledge that staff representing them at MARAC meetings require sufficient time to adequately research cases and individuals before attending the MARAC and afford them that resource.	St Helens Community Safety Partnership
R10	Consideration should be given to adopting measures to ensure that whenever a victim states they think the perpetrator will kill them one day the comment is recorded on the VPRF1 and its context explored with the victim at the earliest safe opportunity.	Merseyside Police
R11	Make more use of completing MeRIT forms to determine whether referral to MARAC is needed.	St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group
R6	Refuge’s Casework management policy and effective casework training should be reviewed to ensure that all staff understand the requirement to contact clients following a new referral by another agency.	Refuge, Warrington
R7	Refuge to develop a process to effectively identify clients who have not had risk assessment reviewed at least every four weeks.	Refuge, Warrington
R8	People being rehoused into St Helens from a neighbouring borough due to Domestic Abuse should be referred direct to the new tenancy officer within the complex needs team at signup.	Torus Housing
R9	Staff at MASH should be reminded of the importance of researching the history of parties involved in domestic abuse. In particular ensuring previous addresses are taken into consideration during the risk assessment process.	Merseyside Police
Recommendations extracted from the published report. Source: Home Office DHR Library. View full report ↗