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
Durham review
CSP: DurhamPublished: June 2023Extracted: 8 recs
Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.
The report identifies missed opportunities for multi-agency intervention, superficial responses to complex family needs, and a lack of professional curiosity and information sharing, particularly regarding domestic abuse and alcohol misuse.
Home Office classifications
35 tags
Source-supplied classifications used by the Home Office to catalogue this review.
Victim - alcohol misuse
Victim - housing issues
Victim - mental ill health
Victim - self harm
Victim - suicide attempts
Victim - had been a victim of an abuser before
Perpetrator - case heard in court
Perpetrator - was a carer
Perpetrator - alcohol misuse
Perpetrator - housing issues
Perpetrator - mental ill health
Perpetrator - depression
Perpetrator - psychosis
Perpetrator - self harm
Perpetrator - suicide attempts
Perpetrator - known to agencies as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to police as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to probation services as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to others as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - known to family as a domestic abuse perpetrator
Perpetrator - supervised by probation services
Aggravating factors - physical abuse
DHR process - family contributed to dhr
DHR process - family supported by expert specialist advocate
DHR process - police recommendations
DHR process - health services recommendations
DHR process - idva or other domestic abuse support service recommendations
DHR process - probation services recommendations
DHR process - identification of risk recommendation themes
DHR process - training recommendation themes
DHR process - policy recommendation themes
DHR process - multi agency working recommendation themes
DHR process - record keeping recommendation themes
DHR process - awareness raising recommendation themes
DHR process - other recommendation themes
Extracted recommendations
8 recommendations pulled from the report · 1 matched to organisations in the index
An integrated multi-agency domestic abuse and sexual violence training plan is currently in development. This needs to identify the resources across the partnership to implement this plan including those sessions delivered by Harbour the commissioned Domestic Abuse Outreach Service. The plan needs to identify priority groups of staff for training and ensure a rolling programme is implemented. All training should emphasise the contributory factor of alcohol on domestic abuse as well the need for 'professional curiosity' and 'respectful uncertainty' rather than professional optimism.
There is currently an initiative in custody suites where each individual identified in an alcohol related incident is subject to screening. The Alcohol Harm Reduction Group to evaluate the effectiveness of the current initiative, in custody suites in County Durham.
Consideration is given to continuing the development of the Central Referral Unit with it becoming a fully functioning partnership CRU or Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) The priority maybe to first consider this for children then move to incorporate adults.
That other professionals and agencies (where they are aware that NPS are involved) that have a relevant duty to ensure that information sharing protocols with the Probation Service [NPS] are robust and lines of communication are clear. The Probation Service [NPS] should be notified of any potential licence breach at the earliest opportunity.
The Safe Durham Partnership recommends that health providers in County Durham review their DNA policy and make sure that it is being appropriately applied. Health practitioners should be encouraged to identify those high impact families who persistently fail to attend and share this information with the referral agency as ‘did not attend’ (DNA) as part of this DNA protocol.
Addressed to
Durham County Council, Children and Adults Services (Education)
Durham County Council, Children and Adults Services (Education) reviews its policy and issues best practice guidance for schools concerning the ethical and statutory retention of files for those pupils that are from vulnerable groups in particular those excluded.