Chief constables should ensure that both live PPDA cases and those closed within the last 12 months are audited. Appropriate action should be taken where they find cases were not treated appropriately as complaint and conduct matters and investigated accordingly.
Police perpetrated domestic abuse: Report on the Centre for Women's Justice super-complaint
Published 30 June 2022Super-complaintJoint with College of Policing, IOPC12 recommendations
Joint investigation found systemic deficiencies in how police forces deal with domestic abuse allegations against their own officers and staff. Forces not fully recognising risks.
Coverage
The organisations covered are not linked in this record. Check the original report for its scope and addressees.
Recommendations
Chief constables should submit explanations via the NPCC to the College of Policing, IOPC and HMICFRS within six months detailing how their force has improved the response to PPDA allegations, covering: handling as police complaints/conduct matters; compliance with APP guidance; monitoring of cases; ensuring impartial investigations by qualified personnel; effective victim engagement; appropriate deployment decisions; and embedding super-complaint findings.
Chief constables should make sure they have plans in place to ensure PPDA allegations are investigated (both in terms of the criminal investigation and misconduct response) by someone with no prior connection to any of those involved in the allegations. Rationales for investigation ownership decisions should be fully recorded.
External force investigation may be appropriate when truly independent investigators cannot be found internally or when victim trust cannot be secured another way, particularly in smaller forces or cases involving well-known suspects.
Local plans should include procedures to mitigate any unintended consequences to the speed and quality of the investigation and/or victim engagement in the investigative process that may be caused by referring a case to an external force for investigation.
Police and Crime Commissioners should consider whether specific risks and barriers experienced by PPDA victims are being taken into account when commissioning victims' support services.
The Ministry of Justice should ensure that its guidance for independent domestic violence advisors includes guidance on the specific vulnerabilities of PPDA victims.
Chief constables ensuring they provide accessible information for all non-police and police victims on how they can report PPDA and access confidential support (including through external agencies, such as the Refuge 24-hour helpline).
The Home Office should consider whether it would be appropriate to make any changes to legislation to ensure that police victims of PPDA do not have weaker rights (for example, in relation to being kept informed of investigations and subsequent proceedings, and to seek an independent review of the outcome of an investigation) than non-police victims of PPDA.
The Home Office should provide further guidance on the types of considerations to take into account when deciding to restrict an officer's duties (for example, move them to a new role or location) while there is an ongoing investigation into their conduct, with a view to ensuring that there is sufficient safeguarding of victims, members of the public and the integrity of any ongoing investigation.
To improve the consistent recording and monitoring of PPDA cases, the Home Office should amend the Annual Data Requirement connected to misconduct cases and criminal investigations. Police forces should be required to report the number of misconduct cases and criminal investigations involving PPDA and the associated outcomes of these cases.
Advise the College of Policing, IOPC and HMICFRS within 56 days of the date of publication of this report whether they accept the recommendations made to them. Chief constables should direct their responses to the NPCC and PCCs should direct their responses to the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).