Women’s Aid responds: The National Police Chiefs Council and College of Policing review of themes, learnings and recommendations on police-perpetrated violence against women and girls

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and College of Policing has today published a review of themes, learnings and recommendations on police-perpetrated violence against women and girls.

Commenting on the review, Zainab Gulamali, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Women’s Aid, said: 

“While we welcome investigations into police-perpetrated violence against women and girls, we hope to see concrete recommendations or solutions to improve understanding of domestic abuse within the force, going forward. 

“Only one in five women report domestic abuse to the police, and, following a string of high-profile cases such as Wayne Couzen’s murder of Sarah Everard, women have told us their confidence in police is lower than ever. 

“To strengthen women’s confidence in the police, leaders within the force must acknowledge a need for change, with robust responses to police perpetrators and improved responses to violence against women and girls more widely. To aid this, mandatory training must be delivered by domestic abuse specialists across all levels of the police. Survivors must be shown that they’ll be supported when coming forward.”