Agenda item

Report from the Commissioner providing an annual update on progress against the strategy for Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls.

The meeting re-convened at 12:08pm.

Considered –

The Commissioner’s report regarding progress against the Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.

The Commissioner outlined some of the services and interventions which are commissioned through her office.  It was highlighted that demand continues to grow for specialist support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence but that a there had also been a significant increase in those accessing these services reporting positive outcomes.  Joint working with partners has been effective.

The Panel highlighted that there is a much greater number of referrals for specialist support than the published figure and the Commissioner was asked about how this intelligence on the ground is being adequately picked up.  It was outlined to the Panel that the Commissioner is mindful of longer term demand and wanting victims to come forward but also being conscious of service capacity to deal with this increase.  The office is looking at long-term funding strategies.  In terms of intelligence, the office is using a range of methods such as surveys, working with commissioned providers and the Strategic Sexual Violence Group.

The Commissioner was asked if she could share the North Yorkshire results from the recent Operation Soteria Bluestone survey of victims/survivors of sexual violence and what is being done to address any shortcomings.  The Commissioner reported that the North Yorkshire findings were broadly across the national average and most victims felt treated with dignity and respect by police officers.  Satisfaction does fall off over a longer period where cases take longer to move through the criminal justice system.  North Yorkshire Police (NYP) has not yet adopted the findings as they are awaiting to receive a self-assessment package shortly and a project team will then implement over the following 12 months.

The Panel asked the Commissioner about what is being done to encourage people to come forward and report domestic abuse and sexual violence and how intelligence is being captured within the police system.  By way of response, the Panel was advised of the partnership mechanisms in place, in addition to Crimestoppers, which assist the police in reviewing trends of perpetrating behaviour and linking up with relevant commissioned services.

The Commissioner was asked how she will assess public trust and confidence in the police, in addition to questions regarding action to review and scrutinise the numbers of reported rapes going to prosecution.  The Panel were advised that the Commissioner evaluates trust and confidence through her rolling public survey and has also done an anonymous survey about experiences.  In terms of rape prosecutions, the file quality for the CPS has improved and this has cut down on the time victims must wait to get to prosecution.  Additionally, there are two scrutiny panels which focus on domestic abuse and rape/sexual offences cases that haven’t been put forward to the CPS, particularly wanting to look at where the victim has withdrawn from the process and learning is shared with NYP.

The Panel asked about perpetrator programmes and how these might target individuals who aren’t referred to the courts.  Current provision is available to those willing to engage voluntarily so the Commissioner’s office are looking at a national programme whereby police have the power to offer an out of court disposal for perpetrators of lower risk if they complete a perpetrator programme.

Members were also keen to ask the Commissioner about what support is in place for adult survivors of child sexual abuse.  The Commissioner acknowledged that there is a commitment to do more consultation around this in the coming months.

In response to a Panel question about the timeframe for completion of the new SARC in York, the Commissioner outlined the challenges that had arisen to progress but that she expects the work will start by Christmas.  It was agreed that Panel members may visit the SARC prior to opening if useful.

NYP were commended by the Panel for their work on developing a system for domestic violence molestation orders, which now means that the police are able to more quickly access information about such Orders where a woman reports that one is in place.

Resolved –

That the Panel notes the annual progress report provided.