Agenda item

Cllr Hoddinott, Cabinet Member for Waste, Roads and Community Safety introduced this item, with Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Lee Berry, South Yorkshire Police. Sue Wynne (Rotherham Rise) was to provide further details of how the voice of the victim was being reflected in the strategy and its implementation, but unfortunately could not attend due to illness.

Cllr Hoddinott outlined to the Committee that tackling domestic abuse remained a key priority for the Council and its partners, through the Safer Rotherham Partnership (SRP).

This report followed a previous report made to Improving Lives Select Committee (ILSC) on the 25th July 2017. Since the Commission last considered this issue, work had commenced on the development of a Domestic Abuse Strategy which had been approved by the Safer Rotherham Partnership. The strategy was underpinned by a delivery plan, supported by an active Domestic Abuse Priority Group. Cllr Hoddinott reported that in developing the strategy they had undertaken in-depth work to identify gaps and areas of weakness; this included the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board conducting a number of audits into cases of domestic abuse where children have been present and actions arising from a Domestic Homicide Review. Immediate action had been taken to address waiting times for services at Rotherham Rise.

Cllr Hoddinott summarised the gaps and areas of weakness as follows:

-        Responsibility for tackling abuse does not sit with one agency with the police, local authority, health and voluntary sector partners having different roles. Whilst there were pockets of good practice (with Rotherham Rise and Council’s Housing Services cited) this was not sufficiently co-ordinated. It had been the priority of the Community Safety Manager to bring this work together with the Domestic Abuse Priority Group (DAPG).

-        Use of risk assessments was inconsistent amongst partners. Whilst high risks cases were handled well, this was not always the case for those identified as a lower or medium risk or in cases requiring escalation/de-escalation. The Community Safety Manager was developing a Domestic Abuse Charter to establish expectations about information sharing and service standards.

-        There was a lack of clarity about which services/support are available and the pathways for the receipt of services should they be required. Mapping work had commenced to address this. 

Cllr Hoddinott and DCI Lee Berry gave further details of progress in relation to the following areas:

-        Voice of the Victim; previous feedback from this Committee had identified that the “voice of victim” was not routinely captured in the strategy. Led by the voluntary sector, work has commenced to ensure that that the views of people using domestic abuse services were fed into the strategy and SYP have committed that police officers will also meet victims and survivors to inform improvements.

-        Peer Review; Bradford City Council had been engaged to undertake the peer review of the strategy and direction of travel. This would take place in January 2018 and the Committee was requested to participate in the peer review.

-      Perpetrator Programme; the programme had been commissioned jointly with Sheffield and Doncaster Councils and funding identified for a two year programme, commencing in March 2018. Learning from recent work had identified that is was often difficult to distinguish between the perpetrators and victims, as roles may not be clearly defined within abusive relationships. SYP had introduced a new vulnerability strategy to ensure that the right response was given to the victim (making every contact count) and alongside this a complete victim care package had been introduced. In addition, a police officer has been located in Rotherham Rise to address offending behaviour of perpetrators at an early stage.

-      Women’s Empowerment/Education; it was recognised that this area was least developed and the Committee’s input was requested.

-      PEEL Review; direct face-to-face training has been undertaken by police officers and rolled out across the force and further work has been undertaken on civil orders to safeguard victims and families. An outline of satisfaction levels were given to the Committee and further details provided of the work undertaken to improve these. SYP were aware of the number of domestic abuse incidents which were outstanding and levels of vulnerabilities. An awareness campaign, ‘Cut the Strings’, was being rolled out to increase reporting.

-      Peak Period Action; additional funding had been provided by the local authority to identify repeat victims and high-risk perpetrators to ensure that there was a timely response. This service is provided by Rotherham Rise and SYP. This would be rolled out in the run-up to Christmas.

Cllr Hoddinott concluded that the report, strategy and delivery plan demonstrated the progress made and positive direction of travel.

Discussion ensued on the report with the following issues raised/clarified:-

How would the “voice of the victim” be reflected in the strategy? – It was outlined that the strategy would be adapted to reflect the feedback from victims and survivors and the outcomes from the peer review.

The delivery plan referred to ensuring appropriate access for all communities and individuals including to “those less able”. Clarification was sought on if it was understood who were “less able” in order to ensure that services were targeted appropriately. - This had been identified as an area for further development to understand who was accessing services and any gaps in provision and risks.

In relation to the perpetrator programme, what were the measures to ensure that value for money was achieved? The tender would be shared with members.

Further details were sought on how agencies would make every contact count and avoid ‘missed opportunities’ to work together to identify victims and risks. – It has been identified that not all frontline workers may recognise domestic abuse when they have contact with the public or know how to refer issues on. The DAPG has a key role in ensuring that each partner agency has identified gaps and ensure that staff were trained appropriately and issues assessed consistently. Work was underway to develop pathways to ensure that victim’s details were provided once and information shared with relevant agencies, including with schools were children were involved.

How confident were SYP and the Cabinet Member about the level of referrals from dentists and if training they had received was effective? – This would be referred to the DAPG for further exploration.

How did the redesigned pathway relate to the ‘one front door’? – These issues were linked; there was a previous lack of clarity about how referrals were made and what services can be accessed. The work to develop the pathways would address this gap.

Clarification was sought on the work in schools and uptake of training. – It was recognised that this was an area for development. The compulsory delivery of Personal, Social and Health Education was welcomed. It was suggested that further questions could be asked about positive relationships in the annual “Voice of the Child lifestyle survey”.

In relation to the perpetrator programme, a further explanation was sought about the pre-conviction intervention and if work be undertaken with other agencies to identify potential perpetrators? – If a related domestic incident has been reported (but no crime committed) and the individual has indicated that they wish to change behaviour, a referral would be made to the perpetrator programme. Work was also underway to reduce re-offending behaviour. This intervention was intended to stop incidents escalating at the earliest possible point. Referrals were received from other agencies.

The Chair requested that the Deputy Director for Safeguarding, CYPS liaises with the Community Safety Manager to identify the relevant accountable officers in relation to the delivery plan actions focusing on Early Help and Education.

In concluding, the Chair thanked Cllr Hoddinott and DCI Berry for their attendance and for the progress made.

Resolved:- 

1)    That the Committee contribute to the Peer Review, if required by the Assessment Team.

2)    That an update is provided to this Committee in 6 months to include information about how the voice of the victim is captured in the strategy and its implementation.