The UK government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade by creating domestic abuse specialists within 999 control rooms. The specialists will ensure that expertise in domestic abuse is available to victims, with the ultimate goal of providing faster responses from officers and quick referrals to support services. The new measure is integrated into “Raneem’s Law” in honour of Raneem Oudeh, who was murdered alongside her mother, Khaola Saleem, by Ms Oudeh’s estranged husband in 2018. The government has also announced another pilot program for a domestic abuse protection order, imposing tougher sanctions on abusers who fail to keep away from victims.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, noted that victims should have confidence that the police would be there for them. She emphasized that any report would be treated with the importance and urgency that it needs. Ms Cooper called the new measures “vital” and “a personal priority for her.” The specialist measures would be implemented next year and will be tested initially within select police forces, which have not yet been announced.
The UK government revealed that on average, around 100 domestic abuse-related offences were recorded by the police in 2020 alone. Ms Oudeh, who was killed alongside her mother, rang 999 many times on the night of their murder, but the police failed to reach the two women in time. The inquest found that it was the police’s material erroneous approach that resulted in their deaths, and the police force has already apologized to the family. Ms Oudeh’s aunt, Nour Norris, said having domestic abuse experts in control rooms would prevent other domestic abuse victims’ deaths, and not like in Raneem’s story.
The UK Government announced a new pilot program for domestic abuse protection orders, which will start in November. Police officers already have the authority to legally order abusers not to contact or come near the victims up to 28 days. The new program will also require electronic tagging of offenders and force perpetrators to inform the police of any name or address modification. Referral hospital charity welcomed the changes but demanded more information on how the plan will be implemented and noted that police forces’ response to domestic abuse requires more serious action
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
