Just 4% of alleged domestic abusers in the police were dismissed over a 12-month period, according to new data from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales.
Dame Nicole Jacobs called for “structural change” to both protect victims and rebuild public confidence in policing.
Launching her criminal justice report on Wednesday, the commissioner revealed a survey of forces by her office found there had been 1,294 allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA) in the 12 months to the end of March 2024.
These allegations related to 899 individuals, who make up 0.4% of the police workforce which covers roles such as officers, staff and police community support officers.
Faith in the system is at an all-time low. That’s why now is the time to share my vision for reform
All but two forces across England and Wales were able to provide information on outcomes for such allegations, according to the commissioner’s report, with most allegations ending in a ‘no case to answer’, a suspension or what is known as a learning outcome.
Just 4% ended with a worker being dismissed from their role, Dame Nicole said.
In her report, she said: “Police-perpetrated domestic abuse and VAWG is particularly harmful, given the power differential between the victim and the perpetrator and the ability of the perpetrator to prevent the victim from accessing protection and accountability through the criminal justice system.”
She said such abuse not only harms victims, but also “undermines confidence in the police as a whole, and could have a chilling effect on whether survivors choose to come forward in the future”.
She added that “structural change is needed to protect victims and survivors as well as rebuild public confidence in policing”.
She called for changes to police recruitment “to ensure that policing is employing the right people in the first instance”, as well as ensuring PPDA allegations are recorded and then investigated by an external force overseen by the police watchdog.
She added: “Where criminal allegations are involved, these should trigger automatic suspension at the point of a charge, and automatic dismissal in the event of a conviction.”
Dame Nicole, speaking about domestic abuse more generally, said victims’ needs “have been met with a criminal justice system ill-equipped to respond to the enormity of the challenge”.
Among her recommendations, she called for the Treasury to “ambitiously, strategically and sustainably invest in the specialist domestic abuse sector”; and for the Home Office, Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and criminal justice agencies to “overhaul and integrate data” to improve accuracy and ensure transparency and accountability.
She urged the National Criminal Justice Board to set up an independent scrutiny panel to monitor and review data regularly; and for the MoJ to encourage and adequately resource the roll-out of Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts in magistrates’ courts across England and Wales.
She said: “Just 5% of police-recorded domestic abuse offences reach conviction, and less than a fifth of victims have the confidence to report to the police in the first place.
“Faith in the system is at an all-time low. That’s why now is the time to share my vision for reform.”
Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, chief executive at the College of Policing, welcomed the report, which he said “reinforces the vital importance of tackling domestic abuse and the need for a co-ordinated approach in supporting the criminal justice system”.
He added: “I am pleased that the work we are doing at the College of Policing to better professionalise public protection, alongside the strengthening of policing vetting processes, align so well with the report’s asks, but I recognise that there is much more that we must – and will – do.
“We remain committed to driving further improvements on behalf of all victims and survivors.”
Anthony Rogers, chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, said: “The system struggles to cope with demands placed upon it, and in previous inspections we have commented that specialist domestic abuse services – who play a vital role – are critically underfunded.
“The domestic abuse commissioner’s report sets out clear recommendations that if addressed will help turn what is a fragmented service into one that will help victims as they deal with the one of the most traumatic experiences that they will face.”
Minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls Jess Phillips said: “I am deeply grateful to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for her work on this report and to all the victims who bravely shared their experience. The findings are stark and serve as further proof of what we recognise – that fundamental and systemic change is needed.
“Over the last six months we have taken a number of bold first steps to address these issues, launching new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in select areas and announcing plans to embed domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms under Raneem’s Law.
“But we know this is just the start, and we must go further. We will not stop until we have a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice, and holds perpetrators to account – part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade and wider Plan for Change.”
