Home / Sources / Domestic Homicide Reviews / St Helens · Dec 2022
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.

Original review (PDF) ↗ Source: Home Office DHR Library

Summary AI-generated

Verify against the full report at the source link
The review highlights missed opportunities by agencies to conduct comprehensive risk assessments, particularly regarding the perpetrator's controlling behaviour and the victim's vulnerability. Insufficient information sharing and contextualisation of risk led to the MARAC being poorly informed, compounded by the victim's reluctance to report due to fear of losing her children.

Home Office classifications

38 tags

Source-supplied classifications used by the Home Office to catalogue this review.

  • Victim - housing issues
  • Victim - mental ill health
  • Victim - post traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)
  • Victim - had been a victim of an abuser before
  • Victim - referred to marac at any time
  • Children - subject to child protection or domestic abuse prior to homicide
  • Children - removed into care
  • Perpetrator - case heard in court
  • Perpetrator - issued life sentence
  • Perpetrator - alcohol misuse
  • Perpetrator - substance misuse
  • Perpetrator - housing issues
  • Perpetrator - known to agencies as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to police as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to mental health services as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to idva or other domestic abuse support service as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to others as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to friends as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - known to family as a domestic abuse perpetrator
  • Perpetrator - attended drug and alcohol services
  • Aggravating factors - coercive or controlling behaviour
  • Aggravating factors - stalking
  • Aggravating factors - digital stalking
  • Aggravating factors - honour based violence
  • Aggravating factors - sexual abuse
  • Aggravating factors - psychological or emotional abuse
  • Aggravating factors - physical abuse
  • DHR process - family contributed to dhr
  • DHR process - family supported by expert specialist advocate
  • DHR process - police recommendations
  • DHR process - social services recommendations
  • DHR process - health services recommendations
  • DHR process - idva or other domestic abuse support service recommendations
  • DHR process - housing services recommendations
  • DHR process - community safety partnership recommendations
  • DHR process - identification of risk recommendation themes
  • DHR process - training recommendation themes
  • DHR process - awareness raising recommendation themes

Extracted recommendations

11 recommendations pulled from the report · 6 matched to organisations in the index

Recommendation 15.2

Addressed to St Helens Peoples Board

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation 15.3

Addressed to St Helens Peoples Board | Home Office

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation 15.4

Addressed to St Helens Peoples Board | Home Office

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation 15.5

Addressed to St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation 15.6

Addressed to St Helens Peoples Board

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A1

Addressed to Refuge, Warrington

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A2

Addressed to Refuge, Warrington

Refuge to develop a process to effectively identify clients who have not had risk assessment reviewed at least every four weeks.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A3

Addressed to Torus Housing

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A4

Addressed to Merseyside Police

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A5

Addressed to Merseyside Police

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.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗

Recommendation A6

Addressed to St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group

Make more use of completing MeRIT forms to determine whether referral to MARAC is needed.

Verified wording from the published review · Original review (PDF) ↗