PCC welcomes roll out of 999 domestic abuse specialists

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has welcomed the launch of a national pilot placing domestic abuse specialists in the 999 control rooms of five police forces.

‘Raneem’s Law’ follows the murders of Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother Khaola Saleem, and sees specialists joining the control rooms of the West Midlands, Northumbria, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Humberside forces.

The move is part of a new government approach to improve the police response to victims of domestic abuse and halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

In Durham the PCC was one of the first to work alongside the force and introduce a domestic abuse specialist into the control room to ensure calls for help are managed appropriately from the earliest opportunity.

The step was taken as part of an overhaul of the Victim Care and Advice Service (VCAS) – the PCC’s in-house service providing support to victims of crime across County Durham and Darlington.

In the new national pilot, domestic abuse specialists will provide:

• Advice to officers responding to incidents on the ground
• Review incoming domestic abuse cases and their risk assessments
• Listen to live calls and provide feedback to call handlers on how to engage with victims
• Facilitate training sessions on domestic abuse for force control room staff
• Ensure victims are referred to specialist support services and manually check over decisions made by 999 call handlers to identify missed opportunities to safeguard victims

Joy Allen said: “I strongly welcome the launch of this pilot which ensures victims receive the expert response they deserve from the very beginning.

“In Durham, we introduced a domestic abuse specialist into the police control room more than five years ago. This measure came as part of an ambitious programme of work to promote closer working relationships between VCAS, the force and our partners to save lives and ensure victims receive the help they need swiftly and simply.

“It is vital victims of these terrible crimes have trust and confidence in the processes in place to protect them, secure justice and support their long-term recovery. We must get it right from the very start – the moment when a victim first reaches out for help – to ensure opportunities are never missed to protect lives and support people at the worst time in their lives.

“Victims of crime are front and centre of everything I do as Commissioner. Through ongoing engagement with victims, we are continually learning lessons and improving what we do to address the many barriers they face in getting help and justice.

“I am delighted that we now have the opportunity to work alongside the Home Office as these pilots develop, sharing our first-hand experience for wider benefit.”

Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem were murdered by Raneem’s ex-husband in August 2018. There were 13 reports made to the police about concerns for Raneem’s safety, but no arrests were made. On the night she was killed, she rang 999 four times, but the police did not respond in time.

The Government is provided £2.2m to fund the first stages of Raneem’s Law over the next financial year.

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