Domestic abuse

Summary

This Authorised Professional Practice (APP) provides guidance on the police approach to domestic abuse, highlighting its significance as a high-volume, high-risk issue often associated with serious harm or homicide. The police are responsible for recognizing patterns of abuse, reducing risk, and ensuring victims' safety with every police contact. Key elements of this APP include early risk assessment, safety planning, support, evidence-led investigation, and prosecution. It is relevant to various roles within the police and partner agencies with safeguarding responsibilities, emphasizing the need for comprehensive support for victims and effective strategies for dealing with perpetrators.

Key principles

• 1Recognize patterns of abuse
• 2Reduce risk to victims
• 3Ensure victim safety after police contact
• 4Conduct early risk assessment
• 5Implement safety planning and support
• 6Pursue evidence-led investigation and prosecution

Defined terms

Domestic Abuse

A behaviour is domestic abuse if both of the following apply: both parties are aged 16 years or over and are personally connected; the behaviour is abusive.

Economic Abuse

Behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on the victim’s ability to acquire, use or maintain money or other property; obtain goods or services.

Victim

The term ‘victim’ is used in line with the Ministry of Justice Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales (2020). It recognises the harm experienced by those subjected to domestic abuse.

Perpetrator

A person who commits domestic abuse. Depending on the stage of the criminal justice process, the terms ‘suspect’, ‘defendant’ or ‘offender’ may also apply.

Personally connected

Two people are personally connected if they are, or have been: married or civil partners; engaged or in an intimate personal relationship; relatives; parents of the same child or have parental responsibility for the same child.

Children and young people

A child under 18 years is legally recognised as a victim in their own right if they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse and are related to the victim or perpetrator.

Serial perpetrator

A person reported to the police as having committed or threatened domestic abuse against two or more victims.