Women’s Aid respond to police vetting reforms announced by the Home Office today
Isabelle Younane, Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, said:
“It is crucial for women to feel safe when reporting abuse of any kind to the police, but with poor vetting practices allowing dangerous perpetrators into ranks, it is impossible for survivors to trust that they will be. Women’s Aid welcome the reforms announced by the Home Office today, which will boost vetting standards and allow forces to dismiss officers whose behaviours makes them unsuitable for duty. However, we continue to urge for more action to be taken to transform policing into a safe institution for all.
Rigorous vetting processes need to be established so that individuals with the misogynistic attitudes and beliefs that underpin violence against women and girls aren’t able to pass in the first place, blocking them from ever being in police ranks. We support the recommendations made by HMICFRS and the Angiolini Inquiry relating to vetting, recruitment, misconduct and misogyny in policing, and call for the urgent implementation of all proposals.
On top of this, we encourage the implementation of the 12-point plan for responding to the epidemic that is police perpetrated domestic abuse proposed by Centre for Women’s Justice, which includes criminal investigations into police perpetrators being carried out by external forces, and not in house.
As it stands only 1 in 5 survivors report domestic abuse to the police, and far less receive justice. This is totally unacceptable and needs to change. Until we see full reform, with proper monitoring from the Home Office to ensure accountability, survivors cannot be confident in reporting abuse to the police, and justice will continue to go unserved.
It must also be acknowledged that the achievement of the Government’s commitment to halve VAWG in a decade will require a whole-system, cross-departmental approach that goes beyond criminal justice outcomes. This is not least because many survivors – despite positive reforms to policing and the courts – may never choose to pursue legal avenues. We await funded commitments from other Government departments beyond the Home Office and Ministry of Justice – including from MHCLG on housing, Department for Education on prevention, and from DHSC on health – as part of the upcoming and long-awaited refreshed VAWG strategy in the summer.”
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