The Westminster government has allocated up to £39m over the next two years to fund 50 initiatives by police forces across England and Wales focusing on the behaviour of domestic abusers or stalkers.
“Prevention of crime is always better than having to deal with the consequences of crime,” said West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster.
Jo Todd, chief executive of Respect which works with offenders, commented: “We believe every perpetrator should be held to account and stopped from causing further harm and are keen to see provision for high-quality perpetrator responses in every local area.”
Projects include:
- ensuring domestic abusers are closely monitored and given early psychological intervention to change their behaviour before it gets worse (West Midlands);
- Training more front-line officers to spot signs of domestic abuse and intervene with perpetrators (Gloucestershire);
- Addressing perpetrators’ substance use where there is intimate partner violence (Humberside);
- Providing an early intervention service for domestic abuse offenders (Gwent); and
- Establishing a domestic abuse perpetrator hub (Surrey).
