Encouraging start but further action needed on NI domestic abuse legislation, says Chief Inspector

More than 32,700 domestic abuse incidents were recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2023/24, the third highest financial year figure since 2004/05 with only 2021/22 and 2022/23 having a higher number of recorded incidents.

The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 is aimed at providing better support to victims and children affected by domestic abuse.

Speaking on Wednesday (April 9) following the publication of Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland’s (CJI’s) second annual review of the effectiveness of the Act, Jacqui Durkin, Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland, welcomed the work to date by the Department of Justice (DoJ), the PSNI, the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS) and the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS), but stressed there was more to do.

“In 2023/24, 32,763 domestic abuse incidents and 19,954 domestic abuse crimes were recorded by the PSNI with a further 15,298 incidents and 9,228 domestic abuse crimes recorded by the police between April 1 and September 30, 2024,” said Ms Durkin. “Each one of those incidents, which occur on average every 16 minutes, represents at least one victim and in too many cases their child, who has been impacted by domestic abuse in Northern Ireland.

“This second annual review focused on action taken and progress made towards implementing the recommendations made 12 months ago in our first annual review, rather than making a judgment on whether recommendations were fully achieved or not at this stage.

“It was encouraging that inspectors found evidence of good or reasonable progress being made against eight of the 11 initial review report recommendations.

“But it was concerning that of the remaining three recommendations, inspectors found insufficient progress and no meaningful progress had been made on two recommendations made to the PSNI,” she said.

These recommendations related to the delivery of training for police officers and staff working in frontline and contact management roles to improve the quality of threat and risk assessments and information being recorded, the response provided to children in domestic abuse cases and the supervisory reviews of records being undertaken.

“Inspectors also found insufficient progress had been made by the NICTS against the recommendation that it should, in conjunction with its partners across the courts, review and take action to ensure the accurate, complete and consistent recording of court outcomes where enhanced sentencing was and was not applied in relevant cases,” said the Chief Inspector.

“It is vital that quality data and information including complete and accurate court records, are available on the Act’s impact including the use of aggravating factors.  This should be ambitious and not designed to meet the bare minimum but provide information, to not only to inform the criminal justice system, victims, and stakeholders, but to foster public confidence in the difference the Act is making.”

In the first review report, inspectors highlighted the need for cultural change in how domestic abuse was understood and dealt with by those working in the criminal justice system.  Inspectors were pleased with progress in this area.

During this second annual review Ms Durkin said the inspection team had found evidence that police officers and prosecutors had begun to develop a broader understanding of what domestic abuse was, the impact it had on victims and witnesses, particularly children, and how it was investigated and prosecuted.

“It was very clear however there is still work to be done in closing the gap between the aggravating factors identified by the PSNI and those that lead to a prosecution and a conviction, are considered by Judges and are apparent in sentences and outcomes,” said Ms Durkin.

“Greater focus on delivering effective training on children in domestic abuse cases within the PSNI was also needed. It is also important the impact on children of offending that occurs in a domestic situation or context is recognised and the deterrent effects of an enhanced sentence, as intended by the legislation, are realised.  There is more to do in this area.”

She added: “The importance of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 being on our statute books cannot be underestimated as the intention of the Act is to deter offending and improve outcomes for victims of domestic abuse in our community.

“Three years after the commencement of the legislation in February 2022, the energy and collaboration required to implement it cannot be allowed to diminish. As we collectively move forward, the efforts of the DoJ, the PSNI, the PPS and the NICTS to implement the Act need to maintain momentum that results in quality services for the benefit of all and ensure its contribution to ending violence against women and girls and safer homes in our community, are realised.

“The new Programme for Government and Policing Plan have clear priorities and outcomes that the effective implementation of this Act can contribute to.

“CJI inspectors will shortly be commencing preparatory information gathering in advance of fieldwork to inform the third annual review, which similar our first review published in 2024, is likely to include a return to case file reviews as part of our evidence gathering and assessment.”.

In 2023/24, 67 per cent of victims of domestic abuse crimes were female and 33 per cent were male. A total of 7.5 per cent of victims were over 60 years of age.

During those 12 months, 2,728 domestic abuse cases were disposed of through the courts (up from 1,103 in 2022/23). Of the domestic abuse cases prosecuted at court 55.5% (1,515 cases) resulted in a conviction, up 3.8 percentage points from the prior year. Of the 1,515 cases where a conviction was secured, 30.6 per cent resulted in a custodial sentence, a reduction of 6.5 percentage points from the 2022/23 reporting year.

Data provided to inspectors by the PPS showed that between February 21, 2022, and March 31, 2024, 59 cases were submitted by the PSNI to the PPS with 61 child aggravating factors attached.