Risk management principles and recommendations
Expected result: Trained police officers are capable of understanding the gender dynamics of intimate partner violence and can develop, with the contribution of victims and the collaboration of other relevant agencies, strategies that ensure victims’ safety from physical and psychological violence
Recommendations
- Analyse training needs to identify levels of knowledge and understanding of the gendered dynamics of intimate partner violence across policing roles and ranks.
- Introduce mandatory training for any police involved in risk management of intimate partner violence.
- Co-produce training with local multiagency stakeholders.
- Evaluate training programmes and build monitoring of quality into data collection and reporting..
Expected result: Police officers take into consideration individual characteristics such as race, disability, age, religion, immigration status, ethnicity and sexual orientation, and implement interventions aimed at preventing victims’ secondary victimisation.
Recommendations
- Adopt internal policies and learning strategies that challenge institutional sexism, racism and other stereotyping.
- Monitor the effectiveness and impact of risk management strategies for diverse groups.
- Reflect victims’ individual characteristics in risk management strategies.
- Reflect perpetrators’ individual characteristics in risk management strategies.
- Reflect children’s specific experiences and needs in risk management strategies.
Expected result: Trained police are able to use collected administrative data on intimate partner violence in monitoring and evaluating risk management strategies and interventions, to better prevent repeat victimisation.
Recommendations
- Risk management monitoring should include data from administrative sources and disaggregate the data in compliance with European legal frameworks
- Risk management monitoring should include minimum required data disaggregation
- Police should have access to data (where available) from related civil actions, perpetrator treatment programmes, and medical and psychological records regarding perpetrators
Expected result: Regular monitoring of reported cases of intimate partner violence should better ensure victims’ safety and keep perpetrators accountable.
Recommendations
- Implement routine monitoring of victim safety.
- Monitor perpetrator behaviour.
- Establish links between police, victim support services and perpetrator programmes where possible, to ensure a focus on victim safety and perpetrator accountability.
- Assign appropriate significance to victims’ assessments of risk.
Expected result: Police officers are capable of making a solid contribution in the context of a multiagency mechanism and in developing targeted interventions, within the police’s mandate and competences.
Recommendations
- Engage with and support multi-agency bodies and processes
- Agree protocols with key stakeholders to establish terms of reference and agree information-sharing arrangements
- Define responsibilities for referring victims back to multi-agency bodies
- Work with various services and stakeholders across public and third sectors to improve risk management.