New performance framework to measure impact of police response to VAWG

The outcomes and performance framework sits alongside the national delivery framework for policing VAWG, published in December, which requires all police forces to improve how they tackle offending.

This is the first time that policing has collected data nationally on VAWG to assess and report on performance.

The framework sets out:

• How the police response will be assessed, monitored and scrutinised; and
• Key performance indicators

The NPCC and College of Policing said they will be collating actions plans from all 43 forces on improving the response to VAWG.

The VAWG outcomes and performance framework explains the approach to outcome setting and performance management over the next two years.

The first performance report will be published in November and then subsequently every six months.

The framework for England and Wales has been developed under the leadership of the national police coordinator for VAWG, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth. It has also been informed by experts in policing, government, criminal justice and the VAWG sector.

Ms Blyth said: “I am absolutely committed to reporting on performance openly and publicly, enabling scrutiny of our progress.

“This includes making our threat and risk assessments publicly available.

“I am also committed to a collaborative approach to draw insight from performance data, which will help tell us what is – and isn’t – working, so that we can refine our approach accordingly.

The reports will provide a national overview and include force breakdowns of data.

Analysis of performance against the VAWG framework will be supplemented by the first national strategic threat and risk assessment for VAWG, said the NPCC and College of Policing. This will be published by March 2023.

They added: “As each performance report is published, we will share findings with the VAWG sector and other key stakeholders to discuss what they mean and how we respond to them.

Each performance report will be published by the college and the NPCC on their websites.

Joint Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) victims leads, Donna Jones and Sophie Linden, welcomed the outcomes and performance framework, adding: “Following on from the publication of their VAWG framework in December last year it shows a steady commitment to increasing standards across policing and ensuring progress is measurable.

“We are fully supportive of these efforts and have been engaging with our colleagues in the NPCC and Maggie Blyth on their ambitions.

“We look forward to the development of the progress measures into 2023 and beyond.

“As police and crime commissioners we will be using this framework and the metrics to really understand performance across our forces and holding our chief constables to account to ensure policing is delivering an effective response to VAWG and the public can feel safe and supported.

“As the APCC we have last week published our own VAWG Action Plan, which sets out our ambition for tacking VAWG in the next year.

“A critical aspect of the plan is working with partners; only by working together will we be able to definitively tackle this issue.”

This week, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) also set out its “enhanced response” to tackling VAWG in London in an updated action plan following public feedback.

The plan sets out how the MPS will target perpetrators, improve outcomes for victims and raise the standards of officers.

A draft plan was published last November which received more than 1,400 responses from the public. The MPS said it “carefully listened and incorporated the feedback into this latest plan” as it works to rebuild trust in the force.

It added: “The plan is intended to bring together all of our work in public spaces, domestic settings and online.  It also focuses on raising the professional standards of our officers and staff and rooting out those who display unacceptable behaviour.”

Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said: “We have listened carefully. The feedback was clear. Londoners want to see more about the work we’re doing to build trust with women and girls across London so they can be confident that when they report violence and abuse we will take it seriously. This is really important to us too and we have set out how we will achieve this in our plan.

“They have also asked we involve victims and specialists more in shaping our priorities and scrutinising our work. Our plan includes more regular consultation with women and girls, community-led scrutiny of our work and building stronger relationships with organisations working in this area across London.

“The public wants us to improve victims’ experience of the criminal justice system. This is also incredibly important to us. We are working with the Crown Prosecution Service to increase charges for rape and domestic abuse, and the use of protection orders.”

Ms Rolfe added: “A wholesale independent review of culture and standards in the Met is under way but we have not waited for this to begin. We are investing in our professional standards and will make sure we are as robust as we can be in rooting out officers who should not be serving.

“With this feedback we are confident we have made our plan even better. Women and girls have the right to feel safe, at any time, day or night, in public or at home.”

The MPS has already stepped up its activity across the capital since the draft plan was published, including:

• Increased patrols of open spaces across London and more uniformed officers deployed in ‘hotspot areas’ known for VAWG and places where people may feel less safe. Less visible tactics are also being used to identify potential offenders;
• Working with partners across the criminal justice system to prioritise action against sexual and violent, predatory offenders;
• Working with the Crown Prosecution Service to speed up the time it takes for survivors to see justice and improve the support provided to them;
• Specialist training for officers to improve the initial response to domestic abuse and help them spot the signs of coercive and controlling behaviour;
• A London Project Vigilant pilot to tackle predatory offending around the night-time economy following its success elsewhere in the country; and
• A ‘walk and talk’ initiative in which female officers are ‘buddying up’ with local women across London on street patrols to learn about and improve safety.