Police and prosecutors host second annual domestic abuse conference

Picture: Laura Martin, Rob Routledge, Rachel Williams (Founder of Stand Up to Domestic Abuse), Karen Thompson (Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the East Midlands), Thea Arch and Stephanie Bechelet of the Brainkind charity who presented at the event.

Police officers, lawyers and other partners from across the region gathered together to further improve their collective response to domestic abuse.

The second annual Joint Domestic Abuse Conference, hosted by Nottinghamshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, focussed on the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (JJP) – a national framework to improve outcomes for victims.

More than 100 delegates attended the event at Joint HQ on Thursday 28 November, where they discussed the implementation of the JJP, shared best practice and heard directly from a survivor.

The event is timed to coincide with the national White Ribbon initiative and the subsequent 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness of male violence towards against women and girls.

Detective Chief Inspector Rob Routledge, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“We know from experience the appalling impact these cases can have on victims and their families.

“We also know just hard it can be for people to seek the help and support of the police to end those abusive relationships.

“That’s why it’s so important for us to give those survivors the very best service possible once they have taken that step of asking for help.

“We will of course look to arrest and charge perpetrators with offences, but above all we are looking to keep people safe from harm.

“The good news is that we have an increasing number of other tools at our disposal to do that, and we are getting better and better at using them.”

Criminal cases are investigated by the police but prosecuted by lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service.

In the East Midlands, cases are routinely prosecuted by a dedicated team of lawyers who specialise in domestic abuse cases – the only one of its kind in the country.

When cases cannot be successfully prosecuted, officers will do everything they can to ensure that victims are protected from further harm.

District Crown Prosecutor Laura Martin, CPS lead for Domestic Abuse, said: 

“We had a really good turn-out at this event with colleagues from across the five police force areas we cover.

“Ultimately everyone in the room is committed to achieving the same things in bringing perpetrators to justice and protecting victims and survivors from harm.

“Gathering together is a really useful exercise because it helps us to build those connections, work better together and deliver best practice in domestic abuse cases.”