Recommendation - Home Office, September 2024

The IOPC recommends that the Home Office amends its Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) statutory guidance to advise police forces to triage DVDS applications in a risk-based approach. It is suggested the guidance can be amended to instruct police forces to prioritise DVDS applications where the applicant/victim is known to have additional vulnerabilities, and to also prioritise DVDS applications where the person subject to a DVDS application is known to be a serial domestic abuse suspect.

This recommendation follows an investigation into a woman who was murdered by her domestic partner of three months. The woman and her partner had come into contact with police on a number of occasions. The woman’s partner had been flagged by police as being a serial domestic abuse perpetrator, and the woman was known by police to have previously experienced domestic abuse, have an alcohol dependency, and she had also told police she was in the process of being evicted from her home.

Before the woman died, an independent domestic abuse advisor submitted a DVDS application on the woman’s behalf. The IOPC investigation found it took 10 days for the application to be actioned by police staff, and the application was not able to be completed before the woman died.

When reviewing Home Office guidance on DVDS applications, the IOPC noted there was limited guidance for police forces in how to review and triage DVDS applications based on the potential risks posed to those experiencing domestic abuse. It is hoped that triaging DVDS applications in a manner which considers potential risks, and any additional vulnerabilities, will assist police forces in using the DVDS system in a more effective manner.

Accepted

Thank you for this recommendation. This government is committed to supporting victims of domestic abuse, including through the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS).

We are sorry to hear about this tragic case. We know that some forces are not meeting the 28 day response requirement set out in statutory guidance, and that more needs to be done to ensure the Scheme is as effective as it can be.

Alongside the issue you have identified, we are aware of several other issues which mean that the DVDS does not operate consistently or effectively. As such, we are keen to understand the full scale of the challenges impacting the DVDS. To do so, the Home Office is working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the College of Policing and representatives from specific forces to better understand the barriers in applying the statutory guidance consistently across forces.

Accordingly, we accept this recommendation in principle, subject to the outcomes of a wider review of the DVDS.

The issue you raise is valid and it is clear that changes to the DVDS are required to improve outcomes for victims. We will conduct a review of the DVDS as a whole to address the full range of issues we know are currently impacting the effectiveness of the Scheme. We will give specific consideration to whether and how we implement this recommendation as part of that review.