East charity calls for stricter consequences for police perpetrators of domestic abuse
New data shows that only 4% of alleged domestic abusers in constabularies across the country were dismissed over 12 months
A domestic abuse charity in Suffolk is calling for stricter and more frequent vetting of those in the Police - to help rebuild the public's trust and confidence in the policing system.
It comes after new data released yesterday by England and Wales' Domestic Abuse Commissioner revealed just 4% of officers across the country who are alleged to have carried out domestic abuse were struck off over the space of a year.
The research found:
- There were 1,294 allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA) in the 12 months to the end of March 2024
- These allegations related to 899 individuals, who make up 0.4% of the police workforce which covers roles such as officers, staff and police community support officers
- Just 4% ended with a worker being dismissed from their role
All but two forces across England and Wales responded to the survey.
Commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs is now calling for "structural changes" to both protect victims and rebuild public confidence in policing.
"Trust in the police is broken"
Rhys Lloyd is from the domestic abuse charity Leeway, which helps people across Suffolk and Norfolk.
He tells us the charity supports many people with a lack of trust in the police: "The big concern is that it's not an isolated incident. This is something that we have heard about across the country.
"I think we've got to try and create a culture where this is seen as unacceptable and people should feel confident coming forward and talking about these things.
"Ultimately they're not - so that implies that somewhere along the lines, there are one or more things that are ultimately broken.
"Trust in the police is one of those big things."
"It undermines all the good work that's being done"
Rhys explained that when there is a lack of trust in the police, it prevents people from coming forward when they've been a victim of domestic abuse: "I think ultimately if the police are giving people reasons to doubt them or think they are taking advantage of their position, it's a massive setback in terms of people coming forward for support.
"...We know how key it is for people to have that trust, that confidence, that willingness to come forward and without that, it can affect someone's decision to report an incident, which means they're not getting the support they need, first and foremost.
"It also means that perpetrators are getting away.
"In the case of crimes like domestic abuse, this could lead to someone putting themselves at more significant risk of harm, which obviously could have potentially devastating consequences...
"It also undermines all the good work that's being done, including across the police and other organisations, to try and tackle these issues that we're seeing, all too frequently."
"We want to see perpetrators brought to justice"
We asked Rhys what action he would like to see from the police to re-establish trust from the public: "There needs to be some action to get to the root of this problem and tackle it, whether that's stricter vetting or perhaps more frequent re-vetting of people.
"We want to see perpetrators brought to justice for their actions.
"I think it's a bit of a snowball effect because if you take tough action on perpetrators, you'll have more confidence in people coming forward because people can see things will actually be done."
Dame Nicole Jacobs calls for changes to police recruitment "to ensure that policing is employing the right people in the first instance", as well as ensuring PPDA allegations are recorded and then investigated by an external force overseen by the police watchdog.
She added: "Where criminal allegations are involved, these should trigger automatic suspension at the point of a charge, and automatic dismissal in the event of a conviction."
Among her recommendations, she called for the Treasury to "ambitiously, strategically and sustainably invest in the specialist domestic abuse sector"; and for the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and criminal justice agencies to "overhaul and integrate data" to improve accuracy and ensure transparency and accountability.