Specialist domestic violence courts are based on a partnership approach to domestic violence by the police, prosecutors, court staff, the probation service and specialist support services for victims. Agencies work together to identify, track and risk assess domestic violence cases, support victims of domestic violence and share information better so that more offenders are brought to justice.
There were seven specialist domestic violence courts in 2004. Since then the numbers of specialist courts have grown and there are now (March 2009) 104 specialist domestic violence courts. See table below.
None of the 104 specialist domestic violence courts has closed since opening.
2004
7
2005
25
2006
39
2007
64
2008
104
Information from Jack Straw, Labour MP for Blackburn and Secretary of State for Justice 12/3/09, in response to a question in the House of Commons from Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield.
