Policy paper

Tackling perpetrators

Updated 3 January 2024

What are we going to do?

We will publish a comprehensive perpetrator strategy that aims to bring more perpetrators to justice and reduce reoffending.

This will form part of our holistic domestic abuse strategy that will go beyond the implementation of the Domestic Abuse Act to help transform our response to domestic abuse; prevent offending, protect victims and ensure they have the support they need.

We’re delighted to see a requirement for a strategic approach to DA perpetrators set into law. This is something that we and over a hundred other organisations have been campaigning for for a long time. A comprehensive strategy that centres the needs of survivors will help survivors and their families to find freedom and reduce the numbers of new victims, including children.

Jo Todd, Chief Executive Officer, Respect

How are we going to do it?

The act requires the Home Secretary to prepare and publish a perpetrator strategy within one year of Royal Assent.

• In the strategy we will set out our approach to:

  • detecting, investigating and prosecuting offences involving domestic abuse
  • assessing and managing the risks posed by individuals who commit offences involving domestic abuse, and including domestic abuse related stalking
  • reducing the risk that such individuals commit further offences involving domestic abuse

• In preparing the strategy, we will consult with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and other relevant stakeholders

Background

The perpetrator strategy will form part of our wider domestic abuse strategy, and is due to be published within 12 months of Royal Assent of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

We have welcomed and acted on the “Call to Action” from specialist domestic abuse organisations for a domestic abuse perpetrator strategy and recognise the need for continued action on this important issue.

The Government will also be publishing a complementary Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. The dual strategy approach will allow us to focus on lesser understood violence against women and girls crimes, whilst a dedicated strategy on domestic abuse, given its high-volume, high-harm nature, will ensure it gets the attention it deserves.

In the financial year 2020/21 we committed £10 million to tackle perpetrators of domestic abuse. From this we awarded over £7 million to Police and Crime Commissioners to support innovative approaches to preventing domestic abuse, including the expansion of projects such as the Drive Project. For the year 2021/2022 we have an additional £25 million, more than doubling the resources for tackling domestic abuse perpetrators.

We have also committed to refresh and strengthen all relevant chapters of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) Statutory Guidance to include sections on domestic abuse and stalking to ensure that all agencies involved take steps to identify domestic abuse perpetrators whose risk requires active multi-agency management.

Wouldn’t it be better to have a national “register” of domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators?

The police already maintain a number of databases which will hold details of domestic abuse perpetrators, for example the Police National Computer, Police National Database and the ViSOR Dangerous Persons Database.

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice have jointly funded a project to create the new Multi-Agency Public Protection System (MAPPS) which will allow ViSOR, which is now outdated, to be decommissioned. MAPPS will have much greater functionality than ViSOR enabling Criminal Justice agencies to more efficiently share information, improving the risk assessment and management of MAPPA nominals, including domestic abuse perpetrators.

Other measures in the act, such as the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders under the act will provide an additional tool for managing the risk posed by perpetrators, by enabling courts to impose a range of conditions including notification requirements, positive requirements and electronic monitoring.

In January 2020, we introduced new civil Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) which also can impose positive requirement conditions on perpetrators. These orders, which were welcomed by most stalking charities, enable early police intervention, pre-conviction, to address stalking behaviours before they become deep-rooted or escalate.

What is being done to improve the police response to domestic abuse?

The College of Policing has issued guidance to police forces on the ‘Identification, assessment and management of serial or potentially dangerous domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators’.

The key principles set out that forces should have processes in place to identify serial or potentially dangerous domestic abuse or stalking perpetrators and ensure that information about the perpetrator is recorded on the Police National Computer, the Police National Database or ViSOR as appropriate.

The Domestic Abuse Matters training developed by the College of Policing in partnership with SafeLives and has been delivered to more than half of all forces to date. A recent evaluation of the programme showed a 41% increase in arrest for controlling or coercive behaviour.

How do perpetrators get away with going on to abuse further victims?

Not all victims of domestic abuse call the police, and not all victims wish to pursue a criminal justice outcome against their abuser.

There are many other statutory agencies involved in families’ lives – not just the police – which is why effective multi-agency working is so vital to ensure that the risk faced by victims of domestic abuse and their children is properly identified and assessed. That is why the package of non-legislative action which underpins this act covers the full range of frontline professionals with a role to play in protecting and supporting victims of domestic abuse, including schools, children’s social care, job centres, the NHS and Local Authorities.

Key facts

In 2020/21 we dedicated £10 million to tackling perpetrators of domestic abuse.

For 2021/22 the amount we are allocating is £25 million, which will more than double the amount spent on perpetrator programmes.

In the year ending March 2020, there were 47,531 domestic abuse related convictions. Domestic abuse in England and Wales - Data Tool - Office for National Statistics