Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to tackle violence and sexual offences in Preston.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
As part of steps taken through our Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, we are tackling perpetrators and supporting victims.
We have provided funding to the Lancashire PCC to roll out the Drive Project, which focuses on the most serious domestic abuse offenders to prevent them from abusing again, and funded Preston based Saraha to provide bilingual, comprehensive, face-to-face support service for women from black and minority ethnic backgrounds who are victims of domestic abuse.
Nationally, we have invested £9.4 million to develop a New Operation Model for the investigation of rape through Operation Soteria. This ensures investigations are suspect based. All police forces in England and Wales are now implementing this new approach to rape investigations and we have provided £8.5m in 2023/24 to continue to support policing to improve their response to rape.
Through the Safer Streets and Safety of Women at Night Funds, we have invested over £150 million to deliver interventions to tackle violence against women, anti-social behaviour and neighbourhood crime.
This includes just over £3.4m for Lancashire, of which £146,568 has been awarded to Preston City Council to fund interventions such as the installation of CCTV, the deployment of taxi stewards and night-time economy sector training, along with improvements to accommodation for services assisting women at risk and recovery services for victims of sexual violence.
Since 2019, the Home Office has provided over £8m for a Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in Lancashire. VRUs bring together local partners to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area, including sexual abuse and domestic abuse.
Apr. 19 2024
Source Page: G7 foreign ministers' statement in Italy, April 2024Found: including conflict-related sexual violence.
Special Report Apr. 19 2024
Committee: Women and Equalities CommitteeFound: Misogyny in music: Government, CIISA and Office for Students responses HC 695 Special Report
Mentions:
1: Peter Gibson (Con - Darlington) compulsory registration scheme would, however, provide a deterrent to many off-road bikers seeking to abuse - Speech Link
2: Jerome Mayhew (Con - Broadland) Section 59(3)(c) is the power to enter domestic premises to enforce those powers. - Speech Link
3: Jerome Mayhew (Con - Broadland) residential burglary is down by 7.1%, robbery by 9.2%, violence against the person by 12.7%, and stalking - Speech Link
Found: person’s residence for the purpose of criminal activity by means of coercion, threats or abuse
Found: in the domestic abuse, sexual violence and stalking sector, and Victims and Prisoners Bill
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the statement entitled Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Criminal Justice reforms in the King’s Speech, published on 7 November 2023, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure perpetrators of domestic abuse can be removed from the police force and police staff as well as changes to police regulations to remove warrant cards from police officers under investigation for violence against women and girls offences.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
Existing Regulations provide Chief Constables with a power to suspend officers under investigation, including where it is in the public interest to do so.
In February, Government announced that it will legislate for automatic suspension in cases where an officer is charged with an indictable only offence, and a presumption of suspension where an officer is charged with an either way offence. When suspended, an officer is suspended from the Office of Constable and its associated powers. Forces should remove officers’ warrant cards from them where this happens.
The Government is further introducing measures to strengthen the system for removing officers who are not fit to serve. These include a presumption of dismissal where officers are found to have committed gross misconduct and a clarified route to remove officers who fail to hold and maintain vetting.
Found: Victims’ Commissioner for England and W ales2004 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004The role
Apr. 18 2024
Source Page: Factors influencing organisations' decisions to bring cases to the civil and family courtsFound: Factors influencing organisations' decisions to bring cases to the civil and family courts
Found: person’s residence for the purpose of criminal activity by means of coercion, threats or abuse