Agenda item

Members to receive an update on the Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse (DSVA) recommissioning project and insight in relation to the role that alcohol abuse plays within this area of crime.

Members will be asked to comment and note the contents of the report.

Members of the Panel received a report which provided an update on the Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse (DVSA) recommissioning project and provided some insight in relation to the role that alcohol abuse played within this area of crime.

The Head of Strategy and Commissioning for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Down, presented the report. After a recent recommissioning project, it was noted that local specialist providers had been successful in the recommissioning contract process.

The successful contract providers were noted as follows:

·         Helpline and Engagement Service – FreeVA

·         Domestic Abuse Locality Services – Living Without Abuse

·         Sexual Violence and Abuse Service – FreeVA

·         Refuge Lot – Women’s Aid Leicester

·         BME Refuge Lot – Panahghar

·         Perpetrator Interventions Contract – FreeVA

·         Domestic Abuse Children and Young People Service – Living Without Abuse

·         Dispersed Accommodation – Under Investigation and yet to be filled

A question was noted regarding point 10 in the report, about what was happening in Leicestershire and Rutland County with the Perpetrator Intervention Provision (PIP). It was noted that the Home Office released an opportunity to bid for 4 months funding in 2020 provided that Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) found match funding from the locality. A years’ worth of match funding was secured from individual local authorities, Clinical Commissioning Groups’, the Probation service, as well as the OPCC itself, to which the Home Office later provided a further 6 months of funding. The Home Office’s funding would cease at the end of September 2022, which allowed more time to build a business case and secure agreement across the local partnership to continue funding the County and Rutland Provision, as well as the City provision which would continue to be funded past the deadline.

Noting that there was uncertainty over future funding for the PIP, it was requested that a report be provided to a future meeting of the Panel which included relevant statistics on the effectiveness of the provision’s short and long-term impact on Domestic Abuse figures. It was further commented that a positive business case should be developed in support of the PIP provision due to the importance of prevention being better than cure and identifying abusive behaviour at an early stage, particularly within schools.

A further point was made regarding the importance of ensuring that reports highlight impacts, particularly related to equalities and financial, as it was felt there were clear equality impacts arising from this project.

A particular point was raised about the rise in domestic violence in the city, particularly over the pandemic period. Concern was expressed about a possible link to alcohol and substance abuse. It was also noted to be of concern that funding for this project was only in place until 2022, and there should be a joint approach to ensuring continuity of provision beyond this point.

The Panel agreed on the importance of retaining this important programme and requested the issue be brought back to a future meeting.

Domestic Violence Presentation

Jemima Mason, Performance Analyst for the OPCC, introduced a presentation which looked into the data regarding any correlation between domestic abuse offences and the use of alcohol in these offences. Crime levels were reviewed over the lockdown period and exceptions to the data were noted to be passed to the Force Performance Team and Corporate Governance Board.

The presentation initially covered points around the definitions of domestic abuse and how / whether alcohol was a contributing or aggravating factor in an offence. Data was presented which compared figures regarding all offences and the percentage of alcohol related offences, noting key points during the pandemic / lockdown periods. There was further data shown which compared domestic abuse offences and those which were alcohol related, again noting key points during the pandemic period and any impact on the level of offences. Further data was provided which covered the 2019 -2021 period, showing increases in overall crime (3.6%), alcohol related crime (11.8%), domestic abuse offences ((9.9%) and alcohol related domestic abuse incidents (14.8%).

It was summarised that domestic abuse and alcohol related offences had increased disproportionately to the total crime committed, to which the next steps were presented as follows:

·         Raise the issue with the Corporate Governance Board.

·         The OPCC to support the Police Force in conducting more in-depth analysis to understand the issue.

·         The Commissioning Team to work with the new providers on addressing the issue.

The Chairman thanked the Performance Analyst for the OPCC for the presentation and invited the Panel to comment.

Detailed comments were made regarding the figures which showed an increase in both drug and alcohol abuse during the pandemic period and queried whether there was a causal link. Further detailed points querying whether the increase in domestic violence during lockdown should have reversed itself when the pubs re-opened to be more like the figures in the pre-pandemic period, but this didn’t appear to have happened. Further there was concern that there were ongoing incidents and suffering behind closed doors which wasn’t being reported.

The Performance Analyst for the OPCC noted this concern and would respond to the Panel in due course.

Further comments were made around comparing how drug and alcohol related crime were considered differently, and how the consumption of alcohol was considered more socially acceptable and a harsher view was taken towards illegal drug related crime.

Some surprise was expressed at the level of alcohol related crimes not being higher. In line with this, it was requested that details be provided in a future report about days of the week when alcohol related crimes were more likely to take place, with the expectation that they would be higher at the weekend.

It was also noted that the OPCC would be looking at location and repeat offender statistics to give greater clarity of the problems.

It was further requested that future reports make reference regarding how the forthcoming Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill would factor in to work on this area going forward.

Some personal experience of working with families and children was referred to, and the impact that domestic violence could have in such situations. Further reports on this area were welcomed but coming to a view about how the OPCC and the Police could act upon the further data when received was noted as a key issue.

The Interim Chief Executive of the OPCC confirmed that the next steps were for the details, including comments from the Panel to be fed back to the Police Force and to be discussed at a meeting of the Corporate Governance Board, with details of the Police response forming part of the report, which would subsequently be received by the Panel.

Some additional comments were made; a request that offenders in this area be guided to the perpetrator programme, and also whether domestic abuse was being taken up by the Violence Reduction Network (VRN). The Police and Crime Commissioner confirmed that he had raised this with the VRN director who confirmed that this would be covered.

The Police and Crime Commissioner paid tribute to the Performance Analyst for the work done on the Domestic Abuse report.

The Panel formally thanked Jemima Mason and Lizzie Star for their work on the presentation regarding domestic abuse and related alcohol use.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the contents of the report be noted.

2.    That a report be brought to the Panel regarding the future of Perpetrator Intervention Provision, which responds to the comments / suggestions of the Panel.

3.    That a report be brought to the Panel updating on the work regarding domestic abuse and related alcohol use incorporating the comments and suggestions made by Panel Members.