Initiatives
Neighbourhood Policing Programme
Building on the well established principles of the ‘Streetsafe’ initiative & the Neighbourhood Policing theme now embedded across the North Area, work has continued in the development of structures & processes, both internally & externally. For example: twenty four Neighbourhood Community Forums are now established within all localities to facilitate representation from local communities. Dates, venues & Neighbourhood Team officer contact points are advertised locally to reinforce community engagement regarding wider issues of concern & to identify priorities. This process is extended to PCCG meetings. Additionally the Forums present opportunities for the provision of improved co-ordination in the delivery of crime & disorder reduction initiatives & even greater integration with our Partners. Flexibility allows definition of Neighbourhood’s to change in consultation with communities with current arrangements subject to review & development in partnership with Local Authorities & other Agencies including Fire & Rescue.
Domestic Abuse Unit Based at Peterlee
In May 2007 a domestic abuse unit was set up at Peterlee Police Office to cover the Peterlee and Seaham areas. The unit comprises of a detective sergeant and three detective constables who provide daily cover for domestic abuse incidents in those areas. The role of the unit is to address domestic abuse in three ways, firstly to support victims of domestic abuse and to reduce repeat victimisation, secondly to provide a offender management function for offenders that have been arrested in connection with domestic abuse and thirdly to proactively target the most dangerous and prolific domestic perpetrators. The unit supervisor oversees the area's response to domestic abuse by quality assuring domestic abuse investigations, ensuring domestic abuse forms are submitted in a timely fashion and any vulnerable children are identified. The unit has also forged strong links with the prisoner handling team, the CPS and the Criminal Justice Unit which are all located on the same floor and are in close proximity to each other.
The unit was jointed in August 2007 by an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) who has been seconded from the Probation Service and is CDPR funded. Her role is to support victims of domestic abuse through the criminal justice process and help reduce attrition rates.
The unit provides a comprehensive service for victims of Domestic abuse whereas prior to it introduction the service was limited to victim support. The unit also piloted a new domestic abuse form which includes a risk assessment ensuring that those who are at greatest risk are identified at the earliest opportunity. The risk assessment process links in with the Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) which was introduced in December 2007. The MARAC provides a multi agency response for the protection of victims of domestic abuse and is underpinned the work of the Unit.
MARAC
A pilot Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) has been running in the Easington area covering Peterlee and Seaham policing areas since December 2007. It is recognized as good practice to have a MARAC in place in those areas covered by Specialist Domestic Violence Courts and there is a national project to install the conferences throughout the country.
The MARAC is essentially a multi agency meeting aimed at protecting high risk victims of Domestic Abuse. It is attended by key partners such as police, social care, probation, health, outreach services and housing. Victims are referred to the MARAC following a risk assessment process, which can be carried out by any of the partner agencies, that has indicated that they are classified as 'Very High'. The referral can be made with or without the consent of the victim and irrespective of whether the victim is still in a relationship with the perpetrator.
The MARAC with is chaired by a detective inspector and it addresses each of the referrals firstly by a round of information sharing where each of the agencies share any relevant information they have on the victim, the offender and any children that may be associated to them and then by a second round of actions delegated by the chair to any of the agencies that can make a contribution to making the victim and their family safe. The actions are reviewed at the next meeting to ensure that they have been completed and in the absence of any new developments the case will be discharged.
There have been four MARAC's held since December reviewing over twenty cases and the feedback from the partner agencies has been very positive.
DVEC Campaign
The DVEC campaign was a home office funded initiative focused on partner on partner violence over the Christmas period from 14th December 2007 to 6th January 2008. The campaign focused on a joined up approach to dealing with domestic abuse from the initial report, with call handlers referring incidents to specifically identified staff equipped with Body Worn Imaging Devices. They were tasked with ensuring enhanced evidence gathering took place and to arrest any suspects. Those staff were supported by a central team that ensured the best possible packages were left for offender management teams who continued investigations the following morning with a view to charging any offenders at the earliest opportunity.
Initial evaluation shows that there were 455 domestic related incidents over the period of the campaign. There were 72 partner on partner related offences and 68 persons were arrested in connection with those offences.
Prisoner Handling Team
Following repeated requests from officers & as a result of the evaluation of a pilot scheme the North Area Senior Management Team agreed to the re-launch in January 2007 of a North PHT. Primarily in place to free up operational officers from the time consuming process of dealing with detainees in the custody arena & the respective file preparation it was seen as an ideal opportunity to maximise the potential to increase the detection / conviction rate across the North Area.
