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
Sheffield review
CSP: SheffieldPublished: September 2023Extracted: 9 recs
Statutory domestic homicide review under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. Source: Home Office DHR Library.
The DHR found the homicide was unexpected, with no prior history of domestic abuse known to agencies or family. The perpetrator was later diagnosed with undiagnosed behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Key concerns include the difficulty in early dementia diagnosis, lack of professional curiosity regarding older adults' disengagement from primary care, and challenges in assessing mental health in emergency settings.
Home Office classifications
15 tags
Source-supplied classifications used by the Home Office to catalogue this review.
Perpetrator - case heard in court
Perpetrator - physical disability
Perpetrator - mental ill health
Perpetrator - cognitive disorder (dementia or alzheimer's disease)
Perpetrator - serious or life limiting illness
DHR process - family contributed to dhr
DHR process - family received draft report
DHR process - social services recommendations
DHR process - health services recommendations
DHR process - community safety partnership recommendations
DHR process - identification of risk recommendation themes
DHR process - policy recommendation themes
DHR process - record keeping recommendation themes
DHR process - awareness raising recommendation themes
DHR process - other recommendation themes
Extracted recommendations
9 recommendations pulled from the report · 2 matched to organisations in the index
Non-response to annual health checks, cancer screening programmes and immunisations: Sheffield CCG requests that GP practices review their policies regarding non-response to annual health checks, cancer screening programmes and immunisations. Practices should ensure that capacity to decline the appointment is assessed and that reasonable adjustments are made for those who lack capacity.
Addressed to
Primary care | Carers centres | Dementia assessment services | Memory clinics | Adult social care
Dementia and risk: To remind partner agencies that risk assessment is part of the care planning procedure in people living with dementia and this should include risk to others. This is relevant to primary care, carers centres, dementia assessment services/ memory clinics and adult social care.
Processes to support older adults experiencing domestic abuse: Adult Safeguarding Partnership to seek reassurances that local processes are fit for purpose with regards to supporting people over the age of 65 where there may be mental health and domestic abuse concerns.
Raising awareness with older adult groups: The report will be shared with the Alzheimer’s Society locally and nationally and an offer will be made to discuss joint working to raise awareness of some of the issues in DA and older adults.
Raising family concerns about treatment of older adults in the judicial system: the Panel feel that it is important to acknowledge the family’s concerns and will write to the agencies concerned (CPS and Prison Service) to pass on the family’s concerns about how their mother was treated in the judicial system.
Recommendations for future DHRs: 1) Alleged perpetrators should be asked for access to defence reports 2) When alleged perpetrators have established or suspected cognitive problems approaches to them concerning their involvement and access to their information need to be cognisant of, and compliant with, mental capacity legislation.
Recommendation for Home Office consideration: it would be helpful for the Home Office to communicate with the Law Society and the Prison Service about best practice in engagement with DHRs.