The Certificate in Policing Knowledge BSc Crime & Investigation. An Introduction to Policing: The Certificate in Policing Knowledge: PLC2038-N- CJ1-2013 Stacey Cooper. Ian Pepper. 'How the police respond to an initial incident, the support that should be offered to victims, survivors and witnesses and the models which could be used to conduct the investigation'. Date Submitted: 21st April 2014 Word Count: 1,698 Page 1 | 9
The Certificate in Policing Knowledge This essay will look at what Domestic Violence is and its current definition and how the 43 operational forces in England and Wales respond to incidents of Domestic Abuse, and how this could turn into a critical incident resulting in domestic homicide. This is why a plan is vital for police officers to put into place before arriving to the incident, as a domestic call can turn into a murder within minutes which is shown in these eye opening statistics, in the UK '77 women were killed by their partners or ex- partners in 2012/13' (HMIC,2014). It will look at the investigation into the incident that occurred and the appropriate models used in the process. Lastly it will look at how domestic abuse can have detrimental effects on child witnesses, and the important types of relevant support that is given and the appropriate referrals that are put in place for victims especially child witnesses and survivors of domestic abuse. What is Domestic Abuse? Most people associate domestic abuse more commonly with violence against women but victims of abuse can either be female or male, it can happen between family members, elder abuse and in same sex relationships from any race, religion, age and disability (womensaid,nodate) The cross- government definition of domestic violence and abuse is: 'Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional (GOV.UK,Nodate). Figures show that two women every week and 30 men die every year because of Domestic Abuse. Every 30 seconds in the UK a call will go through to the control room at police headquarters for the police to attend an incident where domestic abuse has occurred (HMIC,2014). The information that is passed on to the call taker from the victim will be passed on to the police officers. It is the call handler's job to make sure of the victims safety. The call taker will require the location, the identities of those involved, if there are any weapons or injuries, if an interpreter is needed and if there has been a breach in a court order, if children are present and any child protection issues. The call taker will inform all information to the first attending officer (FAO). The FAO will inform the victim of protecting any possible evidence (Bryant & Bryant, 2014, p. 324). Police officers attend incidents that are graded responses