South Yorkshire Police "need to improve" on domestic violence

A report by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary praised improvements in preventing child sexual exploitation but highlighted concerns over tackling domestic violence.

“While the force is good at identifying vulnerable victims, it has work to do to improve its response to their needs and ensure that the standard of service they receive is consistently good,” said the HMIC report.

“The force’s response to domestic violence is not consistently good and requires improvement.

“Although the force recognises domestic abuse as a priority, it does not have the same level of priority as child sexual exploitation, missing persons and repeat vulnerable victims among its entire staff.

“The force’s response to victims of domestic abuse is a cause of concern to HMIC due to the lack of consistent and thorough processes.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, noted the report and pointed out he had committed an extra £2.3 million earlier this year “to create further posts within the Public Protection unit to tackle these issues”.

This was partly because the number of crimes with vulnerable victims is far higher in South Yorkshire than many other places, he acknowledged.

“I am pleased that the inspectors found that South Yorkshire Police have effective systems in place to identify vulnerable people,” Dr Billings said.

“The force is now well prepared to identify children at risk; they have good procedures for dealing with children who go missing; and they work well with partner agencies in each local authority area.

“However, I am disappointed that the response to victims of domestic abuse is not as good as it might be.

“I have spoken to the Chief Constable and his senior leadership group about how the force needs to be more aware of the nature and scale of domestic abuse and more sensitive in their approach to victims, especially in their initial contact.”

South Yorkshire Police said it had already made improvements on domestic abuse, with

safeguarding adult teams in place to deal with high risk cases.

“Our officers also now make a record of observations relating to children at a domestic abuse incident,” the force said in a statement.

“They record the conditions they’re living in and their behaviour; making these simple checks will tell us which children need to be protected further.”

Call handlers are also receiving further training in identifying and responding appropriately to victims.

“We will continue to invest in further training for staff and ensure the most vulnerable people who contact us are protected and supported,” the statement said.