9,000 domestic abuse crimes reported in West Mercia in six months

From April to September, there were 9,060 domestic abuse crimes reported in the region, of which 299 were coercive control offences.

The total figure was a four per cent increase on the previous year.

Domestic abuse crimes typically spike around Christmas, but West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has reaffirmed his commitment to tackle the issue.

He has finalised a plan which focuses on reducing the number of people abused or exposed to domestic abuse and ensuring the right support is provided locally to victims and survivors.

Mr Campion says he is also working with partners and West Mercia Police to disrupt abusive behaviours and improve the force's response.

He said: “We, as a society, cannot continue to just accept this behaviour as a fact of life.

"Victims, survivors, their children and loved ones deserve better.

"This includes better help at the time of crisis to be kept safe, better help to cope and recover from the trauma, better support from the criminal justice system to bring those responsible to justice and better action to drive this horrible crime from our society.

“We, as a whole community, need to see this as a problem, not a crime type that is almost dismissed or ignored because we don’t think it’s happening to us or someone we know.

Commitment

"Whilst the profile of domestic abuse is being raised more, it’s still not enough.

"More people need to understand the extent of the problem and the fact domestic abuse can manifest itself in many different ways.

"It is my commitment to transform the local response and ensure we’re doing the very best for the victims.”

In West Mercia, there were 20 domestic violence-related killings between April 2014 and March 2019.

Setting out his plans in the police commissioner's domestic abuse strategy, Mr Campion says: "There are many improvements that I want to drive in relation to domestic abuse; I want to make sure that people recognise when it is happening.

"I want to challenge perceptions, and not only raise awareness of the issue itself, but raise awareness and highlight all forms of this behaviour.

"I want to see that any victim or survivor of domestic abuse gets equal access to services to help them to cope and recover. I want to see less children affected, I want to see improvements in the criminal justice process, and I want to see organisations understanding that the needs of the whole family must be identified and addressed.

"I am committed to investing in provisions to achieve this. I want to spend more money, more effectively, to achieve better results.

"Part of my role is to hold West Mercia Police to account and I will continue to do this to ensure that their response to domestic abuse continues to develop, and equally, I will ensure that the police have multiple options available to them for which they can identify and challenge the perpetrator and provide support to victims and children.

"I want to ensure that those on the front line in policing have as much support and challenge to make sure that the first contact is the last contact.

"My key focus areas will be around prevention, supporting recovery, working together and challenging perpetrator behaviour."

The full strategy can be viewed at westmercia-pcc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/PCC-Domestic-Abuse-Strategy-V4.pdf