Agenda item

Reducing and preventing people from becoming perpetrators of domestic abuse in Southampton - What are the gaps?

Report of the Director, Legal and Governance requesting that the Panel consider the comments made by the invited guests and use the information provided as evidence in the review.

Minutes:

The Panel received and noted the report of the Director, Legal and Governance requesting that the Panel consider the comments made by the invited guests and use the information provided as evidence in the review.

 

Following discussion with invited representatives the following information was received:

 

Sandy Jerrim, Senior Commissioner from the Integrated Commissioning Unit (ICU) – Local Services Southampton  -

 

·  Currently, Southampton works mainly with victims and children but lacks the same level of commitment to working and intervening with perpetrators.

o  As well as services provided through the Office of the Police Crime Commissioner (OPCC) and probation, there are other service providers outside of social care that will have some involvement with perpetrators, such as drug and alcohol misuse services, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

o  There is no focus within areas on deprivation to identify or respond to domestic abuse and few services targeting Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

·  Children and Families Services has become the prominent referral route to the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Partnership (DAPP) and other services.

·  Funding towards domestic abuse perpetrators come from a variety of sources, typically The Ministry of Justice, OPCC, Southampton City Council, Big Lottery, and general fundraising, etc.

·  This results in the funding for a number of perpetrator and programmes being inconsistent and often short term.

·  Overall in Southampton, and based on information available, it has been found that approximately £800,000 is spent on domestic abuse services annually: 89% of expenditure is on victim/survivor services and 11% perpetrator services (DAPP 6%, LINX 1%, and Building Better Relationships 2%).

·  From a survey questionnaire in regards to referrals to perpetrator services it has found that:

o  All settings recognised and identified perpetrators.

o  Survivor services focus on developing protective factors around the survivor.

o  Responses show that survivor services are increasingly accepting their role in sharing intelligence about perpetrators and the benefits of this.

 

Tara Doel, Frankie Snow and Nicci King – Yellow Door

 

·  The STAR Project delivers Relationship and Sexual Education, through interactive workshops, in Southampton and surrounding areas of Hampshire to children aged from 11+ to college and university level.

o  This is currently delivered to all secondary schools, majority of Primary schools and youth settings in Southampton. In 2017/18 The STAR Project has delivered to 11,985 young people in 2017/18.

o  The STAR Project has been awarded as one of the top 10 examples of international best practise in a European Parliament report "Overview of Worldwide Best Practise for Rape Prevention & Assisting Victims” (2014).

·  One of the aims of this service is to prevent abuse by teaching future potential perpetrators and victims of domestic abuse about healthy relationships, self-esteem, and making informed decisions surrounding sex and relationships. They also provide advocacy support for children.

·  The STAR Project has a very high positive feedback with 98% of children surveyed saying they understood more about what makes a healthy relationship. The majority of children attending participate in the survey.   

·  Funding sources of the STAR Project include: Southampton DSA Prevention and Early Intervention Contract, OPCC, universities, and general fundraising. 

·  Bright Stars is another, therapeutic, programme also delivered by Yellow Door to support children who have witnessed adverse childhood experiences (ACE) from domestic abuse.

·  Yellow Door also has a three year running Diversity and Inclusions Advocacy group that helps engage with marginalised and minority groups on domestic and sexual abuse, supported by Hampshire Constabulary.

 

Tracey Rutherford (Deputy Chief Executive) and Chantal Hughes (Chief Executive) – Hampton Trust 

 

·  The Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Partnership (DAPP) was established in 2016 as a developmental service partnered by Hampton Trust, Aurora New Dawn, and BaseLine.

o  The DAPP has been academically evaluated by Southampton University in 2018. The Priority Perpetrator Identification Tool used within the DAPP, to assess the type of perpetrator by offences committed to trigger intervention, has been academically evaluated by Cardiff University.

·  Hampshire Constabulary became the first police force in the UK to use conditional cautioning to intervene with perpetrators through the OPCC’s commissioning of Project CARA.

·  Hampton Trust provides various programmes for early intervention with young people and perpetrators such as DARE, Turnaround, and LINX. The LINX provides 12 week intervention with young people associated with a backdrop of domestic abuse and/or exhibiting violent behaviour or aggression related to it.

·  The Hampton Trust has worked in partnership with Hampshire Constabulary to pilot Multi Agency Tasking & Co-ordination (MATAC) in Southampton.  MATAC’s have been recognised by Respect as good practice that local authorities should have as a part of their local multiagency arrangements.

·  The Hampton Trust have also worked in co-location with other front line workers in domestic abuse to train and support them for their intervention and interactions with perpetrators. Hampton Trust hopes to expand this to ensure that other frontline practitioners can work with perpetrators and refer them to Hampton Trust in confidence.

 

In addition the Panel received written evidence from Lauren Viney (Interchange Manager) – Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC)

 

·  Interventions made via the CRC are mostly court ordered, with exception to certain contract agreements that are in place for Building Better Relationships (BBR) delivery (such as Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (CAFCASS)).

·  BBR is an accredited group work programme aimed to reduce re-offending and promote the safety of current and future partners and children whilst working collaboratively with other agencies.

o   The BBR has shown an 82% of completion by perpetrators in 2017.

·  Help is a new healthy relationship intervention for male Service Users with identified relationship difficulties. The programme is an early intervention and can be delivered to Service Users who have DA convictions or with those who have identified relationship problems which are a factor in their general offending behaviour.

o  Help will replace all existing local Domestic Abuse non accredited activities within the CRCs.

·  Creating Safer Relationships (CSR) is a 1:1 healthy relationship intervention for male Service Users with identified relationship difficulties. The CSR aims to help men make sense of their own world and find ways to develop and maintain positive and functional relationships.

 

RESOLVED that the information and comments received at the meeting by the above be noted and used as evidence in the review.

Supporting documents: