Positive outcomes for victims of domestic abuse: Combining rapid video response software and leadership strategies

Drawing on the recent focus upon domestic abuse, in part due to the concentration on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and of course with this month being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, finds us appreciating the increased resource Police are attributing to encourage the reporting of these crimes and of course supporting those victims. 

Domestic abuse made up 18% of all recorded crime in England and Wales in 2022 and with the revelation from studies that victims of domestic abuse have previously been reluctant to report the often traumatic experiences that they have been subject to, has made this one of the specific group of victims requiring increased attention with the aim to deliver change and increase the reporting and thorough investigation of these crimes.

Together with adapting to the requirements of the Victims’ Code resources have been stretched and officer time has been spread even thinner across their remit, due to  providing additional support and ensuring the early retention of evidence to support victim’s cases going forward.

Digital solutions do exist to alleviate the pressure on Officer’s, and call handlers, allowing them to work in a far more efficient manner, whilst achieving the capture of evidence and the provision of immediate response and support for victims.

Leadership challenges

At the core of this year’s London Policing College Conference was the ambition to deepen Police understanding of leadership, especially leadership around digital transformation and the efficiencies and effectiveness of technologies that are out there.

Alongside the tech opportunities there are key leadership challenges that are placed on the Police.  Setting in place strategies for leadership and increasing that important engagement, retention and the utilisation of home grown experience and talent will better equip leaders to cascade this knowledge and help their officers from navigating  the digital landscape to interpreting the guidance from the first VAWG strategic threat and risk assessment (STRA) published earlier this year.

The KIM Leadership Development solution was certainly developed to facilitate the efforts of retaining this essential ‘home grown’ talent, and reduce attrition.  Using the system and its digital tools to put Force leadership strategies in place can certainly realise a better understanding of the influences and the levers that contribute to these types of crime.

Response, support and guidance for victims

Returning to the original subject of my article, Domestic abuse, which includes some of the ugliest of offences, to include, but of course not limited to; harassment, stalking, rape, sexual assault, honour based abuse and coercive control. It is of no surprise that many of the victims of these crimes are unable to endure the further trauma of a criminal investigation through to prosecution.

Whilst we can open up the digital opportunities that digital devices can bring, in providing that essential early and ongoing capture of evidence in these crimes, we also recognise the threats these devices can bring to those at risk.

Here at KIM we have taken this on board and put in place functionalities that reduce this exposure to risk and the implementation of tools that support victims immediately and going forward. Bringing together a support circle of invited agencies and key individuals assisting victims to achieve the prosecution of their abusers whilst feeling secure and supported.

KIMs technologies, whilst providing immediate response, support and guidance for victims also allows for organisational case management and a wealth of added benefits to include immediate resources available to victims, Police officers and Police staff. 

The suite of platforms which sit within this area of response and support, have been developed with the Victim and the Victim Code at their core, all the while providing that key interoperability and communication between key partners within a criminal investigation or a wellbeing case.

Rapid Video Response

Offering the widest range of functionality to this sensitive area, from the KIM suite of products, is the Rapid Video Response (RVR+) platform.

This platform provides an immediate virtual policing response. Once a domestic abuse victim calls 999, and if the victim consents to receiving this service, they are sent a link via text where they can access the live video and share their location. These victims receive the same service as they would expect when reporting any crime – The completion of a risk assessment, receiving safeguarding advice and the investigative steps needed to advance the case.

The aim of the intervention is to improve outcomes for those victims of domestic abuse, improving the victim’s journey in relation to timeliness of response, expediting safeguarding of victims to reduce risk and capturing Important evidence immediately.  

The intended outcomes of our RVR+ platform are to reduce victim anxiety, increased victim satisfaction (increasing confidence in the Police), reducing response times to domestic abuse victims, increasing arrest rates, increasing efficiency through a reduction in officer time per call and a the subsequent decrease in call backs.

RVR+ enables victims to receive a Police response who would otherwise be physically unable to attend Police stations or are worried about reprisals.

Where Forces have had a Video Response platform in place the following efficiencies have been achieved by way of a reduction in; response delay for the victim, number of calls for service, number of officers in attendance, Journey times and Officer(s) time at the scene.

There has also been an increase in female victim satisfaction by over 10%, response delay for victims has been reduced from days to minutes and some Forces have seen a 50% increase in arrests and a 25% reduction of call backs into the Force control and incident room.

Overall these Forces have seen an increase in victim satisfaction, improvement in response timeliness, resourcing efficiencies, swift evidence capture and the pursuit of offenders.

In addition to the RVR+ platform, KIM offer a number of safeguarding and wellbeing platforms for the support of victims, Officers and Police staff, all developed with the collaboration of the emergency services to offer resource and enabling that inclusion of key support figures. These stand-alone systems can be integrated, accessed through mobile devices and in addition offer organisations the option of case managing individuals going forward.

Of course with the political parties busy vying for affection amongst the voters and a proposal on the table stating that ALL crimes should be investigated, perhaps aside from domestic abuse and VAWG the Rapid Video Response platform could serve up efficiencies with regard to minor offences also?