Domestic Abuse Victims Being Failed By Police

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

Police forces in England and Wales have been told their response to domestic violence is not good enough, and that substantial and urgent reforms are needed.

A review ordered by Home Secretary Theresa May found many victims of violence felt they were not believed, that some officers were unsympathetic or had a poor attitude, and that other crimes were treated as a higher priority. 

In a review of 600 cases, the report found that in half of incidents where the victim had received visible injuries, the police had failed to take photographs as evidence. 

The findings prompted one charity to call for a public inquiry into how the state deals with victims.

Mrs May called the report "disturbing" and has promised to chair regular meetings to ensure the recommendations are implemented.

The report, by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, found that in a 12-month period there were more than one million calls to the police for help in dealing with a domestic abuse incident, that six women were murdered every month by their partners or ex-partners and that domestic violence made up 8% of all crimes committed.

A third of victims say they felt no safer or less safe after calling police

But despite those shocking figures, the issue is not treated as a high enough priority by force commanders, or individual officers.

The report concluded that while senior officers will talk about it being a high priority, that view does not translate into action on the ground.

Zoe Billingham, the Inspector of Constabulary who wrote the report, said: "Police leaders told us that talking domestic abuse is important, but in the majority of forces it is a priority on paper only and not in practice. 

"It is deeply disappointing that the stated intent is not translating into an operational reality. Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for assistance relating to domestic abuse.

"We believe that the findings of this report should be a wake-up call for the police service; domestic abuse must no longer be the poor relation to other policing activity."

HMIC monitored police officers at work and spoke to victims. 

One woman told them: "Last year one officer came out and his radio was going and I heard him say 'It's a DV (domestic violence), we'll be a few minutes and we'll go to the next job'. And I thought - thanks a lot, that's my life."  

Police responses to abuse are a 'lottery'

Another said: "They didn't take it seriously until something happened in public. That's what happened to me - me and my kids living in fear, being locked in rooms and stuff - police not taking it seriously until he hit me in a club in the middle of everybody. Then they were there like that and arrested him like that. It was no different to what we experienced behind closed doors."

Another contributor to the report told Sky News of her experience when she called to report that an ex-boyfriend had broken into her apartment and assaulted her. 

"The response I had from them, from their first officer onwards, was appalling. The officer had seen the perpetrator before me, and he gave them a false version of events, and by the time they came to see me they weren't interested in what I had to say. He showed total disinterest. They are supposed to be impartial, unbiased and he almost had it in for me.

"I said to him, I don't know why you're treating me like this. You haven't taken a statement from me. You haven't looked around. I had marks on my arm where I had been assaulted. And he walked out of my flat and slammed my door shut. That is how insensitive his approach was."

Another victim articulated her perception that the police were more likely to listen to a man, even if he is accused of being violent.

"Across all my experiences with the police, both positive and negative, one connecting factor is they listen to the man," she said. "Even when he is the perpetrator. They always listen to the man."

Although 79% of 500 victims who responded to an online survey said they were satisfied with the initial police response, 14% said officers were unhelpful and a third said they felt no safer or less safe despite contacting the police.

Victims described a lack of empathy from those sent to investigate, and HMIC concluded that it was a "lottery" whether they got an officer who was properly trained to deal with the complaint.

Theresa May called the report 'disturbing'

Mrs May said the report was disturbing and demanded a response. 

She told Sky News: "It shows significant failings of visible police leadership. It shows a lack of the right attitude to victims and it also shows sadly police even failing to gather evidence of the crimes that were being committed. 

"So we need to see a change of police culture and that has to start from the top. It must be top-down throughout policing. What this report shows is that this is about the culture and attitude of the police. It is not good enough. 

"This is about people's lives. Too many women lose their lives as a result of domestic violence. The police attitude needs to change."

Men are victims of domestic violence as well as women, but 96% of cases deemed "high-risk" are women. 

HMIC say they found no evidence that female officers were better at dealing with the issue than their male counterparts. 

While Lancashire Constabulary was praised for its approach, four other forces were criticised and re-inspections ordered - Cambridgeshire, Gloucestershire, Bedfordshire and Greater Manchester.

While most forces have a specialist domestic violence department, Bedfordshire Police employed just one individual with that specific responsibility. 

Sandra Horley, the chief executive of Refuge, said: "It is a national disgrace that decades after Refuge opened the world's first safe house for victims of domestic violence, the police are still not responding appropriately to women and children's cries for help."

Refuge says the wider investigation into how the police, local authorities and the Crown Prosecution Service deal with the subject should take the form of a public inquiry.

The HMIC report details 11 recommendations including a national oversight team to meet and report on progress every three months and for every force to publish an action plan on improving its approach.

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'Big Six' Energy Firms May Be Broken Up

The energy watchdog has ordered a competition inquiry into the household supply market that could lead to the so-called 'big six' firms being broken up.

Ofgem charted a quadrupling in profits between 2009 and 2012 and said it was acting to "remove uncertainty" by referring the sector to a full investigation by the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Its State of the Market Assessment accused suppliers of "consistently setting higher prices for consumers who have not switched."

It found little evidence of households engaging in the market, with 43% distrusting firms to be open and transparent.

The review also reinforced concerns about excessive profits and barriers to entry for independent suppliers.

It found that retail profits soared from £233m in 2009 to £1.1bn in 2012.

Ofgem said there was clear evidence of suppliers becoming more efficient in reducing their own costs, although further evidence would be required to determine whether firms have had the opportunity to earn excess profits.

The market investigation, Ofgem said, would conclusively determine whether there should be more separation between the largest companies' supply businesses and generation arms, in a bid to provide more clarity on profits.

One of the 'big six, SSE, confirmed on Wednesday it was to legally separate its supply and generation businesses in a bid to improve transparency as it announced a price freeze until January 2016.

While Ofgem found no evidence of collusion on pricing, the review discovered "evidence of possible tacit coordination" in the timing and size of price announcements and new evidence that prices rise faster when costs rise than they reduce when costs fall."

Its chief executive Dermot Nolan said: "Ofgem believes a referral offers the opportunity to once and for all clear the air and decide if there are any further barriers which are preventing competition from bearing down as hard as possible on prices.

"The CMA has powers, not available to Ofgem, to address any structural barriers that would undermine competition.

"Now consumers are protected by our simpler, clearer and fairer reforms, we think a market investigation is in their long-term interests."

More follows...

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Hackney Shooting: Three Held After Girl Killed

Three teenage boys have been arrested after a girl, believed to be around 15, was shot dead in east London.

Scotland Yard murder detectives are investigating after the victim was shot inside a building on Eastway, near the Olympic Park in Hackney.

Police were called shortly before 4pm and attended the scene with London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene near Victoria Park, which would have been packed with families at the time of the shooting. 

The shooting happened on the outskirts of London's Olympic Park

Officers believe they know the identity of the victim and are informing family while they await formal identification.

A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

Three males, all aged under 18, were arrested near the scene.

They were taken to an east London police station, where they remain in custody.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Girls Lured Into UK Gangs 'In Desperation'

By Afua Hirsch, Social Affairs And Education Editor

Thousands of girls are being subjected to sexual exploitation, weapons and drug running at the hands of male-run gangs, a new report warns.

A brutal gang culture is increasingly seeing girls and young women passed around different male gang members for sex, with rape used as a weapon in conflicts between rival gangs, and initiation ceremonies in which both girls and boys suffer sexual abuse, the report adds.

Edward Boyd, deputy policy director of the Centre for Social Justice, which co-wrote the report together with the charity XLP, said: "We are often unsighted about the desperate plight of girls embroiled in gangs.

"They live in a parallel world where rape is used as a weapon and carrying drugs and guns is seen as normal."

The report's authors say that despite previous reports on the vulnerability of girls in gangs, the Government lacks a coherent, long-term vision for dealing with the issue.

The report cites estimates that 12,500 girls and young women could be involved in gangs, but says too little is known about how gang life affects girls' education, families, friends and communities and their own offending.

Former gang members speak to Sky News about their experiences

One 16-year-old gang member, who is being helped to rebuild her life, told Sky News she was let down by adults when she first became involved in gang activity.

"At that time I had no mother, no one to depend on. At that time my mother was a drug addict, I was on my own," said Charlene (not her real name).

"The people that came into my life, they would come into my life and just leave again.

"The main reason I wanted to associate with people around me was that I wanted to be protected. But I was wrong. To this day I'm having trouble with police because of it."

"With the school that I was in, they didn't really help," Charlene added.

"If I went to school and something was bothering me, they didn't even help me with that.

"They would be quick to move me out of the school because of the reputation of the school, they didn't want to ruin it. So they wouldn't help, they would just send you to an alternative school."

The report also claims headteachers have turned a blind eye to gang activity to protect their school's reputation.

But one former gang member said problems in the home and widespread family breakdown was a root cause of the problem.

An estimated 12,500 girls and young women could be involved in gangs

Mona, who now works with charity St Giles Trust to help gang members change their lives, said her own experience of involvement and sexual exploitation in a gang as a teenager was also linked to problems in her home life.

"I had two different types of initiation (into the gang)," said Mona.

"There's one where I had to fight the girls that were gang members, to prove my worth to them. And then there was being passed around by the boys, and that happened to me.

"I wanted to be accepted, and they fed on that acceptance. I had issues at home with my schooling, with my behaviour, I'd run away from home, I was out by myself, hooking up with a load of older people, and they abused me."

Today's report comes after several previous attempts to reveal the extent of girls' involvement in gangs since the issue first came to prominence a decade ago.

But some warn that social pressure and the increasing sexualisation of young women has changed the nature and severity of the problem.

The sexualisation of women adds to the problem, according to Isha Nembhard

"When I was in school we was more boisterous. It was a girl gang. There was no boys in our gang," said Isha Nembhard, 25, a former gang member who now works with Foundation 4 Life which helps girls currently involved in gangs.

"We had male affiliation, but they was in their own group. What we went out and done, it was for ourselves ... Girl rap was more tomboyish. Nowadays girl rap is more sexualised. People like Nicki Minaj and Rihanna sexualise themselves a lot more.

"That makes a girl in a gang weak because they look at these girls only as a sex object."

Former gang members describe exposure to sex on social media, the desire for material wealth, and the lack of parental or community support as a counter-influence as key factors in driving young girls into relationships with male gang members.

The report's authors said that without more research into the extent of the problem, girls would continue to suffer from abuse and lasting damage to their futures.

"The biggest issue with girls in gangs is that we simply don't know the full extent of the problem," said Patrick Regan, chief executive officer of XLP.

"The data we have is merely the tip of the iceberg and at XLP there is no doubt that we see increasing numbers of girls dragged into this appalling world of exploitation, criminality and hopelessness."

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