Evaluation praises system for fast-tracking domestic abuse cases

A CROWN Court has worked closely with police and other agencies to develop a system for fast-tracking domestic abuse cases, reducing the trauma for victims and helping ensure that they receive justice.  University of Huddersfield experts have carried out a detailed appraisal of the scheme and are convinced that it could be rolled out nationally.

The system can lessen the likelihood of repeat victimisation and a boost in the efficiency of evidence gathering leads to an increase in guilty pleas.  It also has the potential to bring about significant savings in the estimated £66 billion annual cost of domestic abuse to the economy of England and Wales.

After being called in to evaluate the scheme over the course of a year, University of Huddersfield researchers Dr John Synnott and Dr Maria Ioannou – who are investigative psychologists – have now issued their report.  They conclude that the Protocol for the Handling of Domestic Abuse Cases devised by Aylesbury Crown Court, in tandem with Thames Valley Police, has had a “considerable positive impact in regards to improving how cases of domestic abuse are managed and run”.

Its success depends on a painstaking approach to building case files, and the multi-agency approach at the heart of the Aylesbury Crown Court Protocol (ACCP) has been a vital dimension, state Dr Synnott and Dr Ioannou.  In addition to Thames Valley Police, the court also worked with the Court and Tribunal Service, Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service and the Witness Care Unit.  

The report also praises the “full support and flexibility” of the judge who backed the initiative, adding that “to implement this nationally it will require similar commitment from judges around the country”.

Domestic violence cases

The aim of the protocol is to slash the average period that domestic abuse (DA) cases spend in the Thames Valley criminal justice system.  Among the goals are substantial reductions in the time taken for DA cases to be sent from magistrates’ court to Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing.  This used to take 28 days, but under the ACCP this has been cut to 10 days at the most.

The 60-page report compiled by the University of Huddersfield researchers includes a comprehensive overview of domestic abuse, the support offered to victims and court procedures as well as a detailed description of the Protocol.  There are also summaries of interviews that the researchers conducted with offenders and with victims.

There are 21 recommendations, covering topics such as national implementation of the Protocol and the need for discussion among the judiciary on dedicated domestic abuse courts that would sit at schedules times to hear cases efficiently.

There is an emphasis on the vital importance of collaboration.

“This work encompasses multiple strands of evidence gathering within a very short time frame and the positive partnership and working relationships amongst all agencies involved is the only way this can be achieved,” state Dr Synnott and Dr Ioannou.

“Our evaluation of the ACCP puts this multi-agency partnership at the centre of its success.  This work directly effects the high proportion of guilty pleas.  Early guilty pleas will have a substantial impact on the victim in terms of having their case dealt with efficiently…furthermore, there are considerable cost savings that can be made as a result of increased early pleas.”

Thames Valley Police’s Head of Criminal Justice, Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint, stated that she was delighted by the highly positive evaluation of the Protocol and by the success of the scheme, which is highly positive for victims of domestic abuse.

“We have found that the ability to speed up the process means we are keeping victims on board throughout the criminal justice process and we have a phenomenal 83 per cent guilty plea rate, due to the speed with which we are putting cases through the County Court.”

Now Supt Barrow-Grint has asked National Police Chiefs Council to review the Protocol to decide if it can be implemented elsewhere. But she believes that it is transferable to other police and court districts around the country.