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
Northumberland review
CSP: Northumberland
Published: November 2024
Year of death: 2020
Extracted: 8 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 highlights systemic failures in the risk assessment and management of the perpetrator by probation and police, alongside inadequate information sharing between agencies. This contributed to a lack of awareness and intervention regarding the victim's escalating domestic abuse and coercive control.
Extracted recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressed to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | That His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service annually audit a sample of risk assessments to provide assurance that where relevant domestic abuse flags are in place and reflected in risk assessment considerations. | His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service |
| 2 | That Northumberland Prison ensures that all intelligence and allegations are formally recorded on official systems (including where the prisoner has left the establishment but remains on live licence). A clear decision should be recorded as to whether that intelligence needs to be shared with other agencies for crime prevention or safeguarding purposes. | Northumberland Prison |
| 3 | That Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure that probation staff should have clear guidance in relation to reporting to police the presence of unlawfully at large individuals on their premises. | Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service |
| 4 | That the Safer Northumberland Partnership ensures that the findings of this review are disseminated to support local training and practice improvement. | Safer Northumberland Partnership |
| 5 | That the Safer Northumberland Partnership seek the support of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to highlight to the UK banking industry the importance of reporting unusual banking activity which can be an indicator of domestic and financial abuse. | Safer Northumberland Partnership |
| 6 | That the Northumberland County Council Domestic Abuse Policy to be made available to all schools and education settings, allowing them to either adopt the policy or to integrate the relevant elements into their staff wellbeing policy. | Northumberland County Council |
| 7 | That the Home Secretary and Justice Minister duly consider the public’s concerns in relation to serious crimes committed by prisoners unlawfully at large and maximise opportunities to prevent this before a finite period has elapsed. This is particularly important where previous convictions relate to either violence, domestic violence, or coercive control, and introduction of further legislation, national protocols and operational guidance should be considered. | Home Secretary | Justice Minister |
| 8 | That the Home Office in its forthcoming review of DHR statutory guidance gives consideration as to clarification in relation to the sharing of parallel review reports with DHR Chairs to reduce duplication and assist in expediting reviews. | Home Office |
| Recommendations extracted from the published report. Source: Home Office DHR Library. View full report ↗ | ||