We’re all familiar with the statistics. Domestic abuse will affect 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime, 2 women a week are killed as a result of domestic abuse and in 2009 the cost to the UK was £16bn. On Tuesday 14th October, The Police Foundation held a conference on innovations in policing domestic abuse – with speakers including Diana Barran MBE (Chief Executive of CAADA) and Alex Marshall QPM (Chief Executive of College of Policing).

I followed the hashtag #pfdvconf with interest on Tuesday, because an innovative approach to tackling domestic abuse is something the pam people have always felt strongly about. Diana Barran raised three key points of cultural change that need to happen in order to move forward with policing domestic abuse, her first point struck a chord:

Ineffective risk management is an issue that comes up again and again in discussions about serious topics such as this. Police and partners joining forces in a secure, shared environment to manage and mitigate risk is such an important step forward that really must be taken, but we’re still not seeing enough of it. Those interested in reading more about culture change might consider taking a look at Jasmin McDermott‘s recent article (“Policing must start a ‘culture war’ on domestic violence”).

Closing remarks from The Lord Dear QPM DL summed the conference up well, stating that a joined up approach, standardisation of data and the moral imperative is key to tackling domestic abuse.

How will you implement a joined up approach?

Get in touch today to find out how pam can help.