Police forces in England and Wales to get units that tackle violence against women

"The plans are being unveiled as the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, prepares to outline a delayed strategy on violence against women and girls (VAWG) next week. Mahmood is also expected to announce the introduction of domestic abuse protection orders in England and Wales after a regional pilot scheme. The orders will be granted by judges in both civil and criminal proceedings, enabling them to impose sanctions on offenders, such as electronic tagging and exclusion zones."

"This government has declared violence against women and girls a national emergency, Mahmood said. For too long, these crimes have been considered a fact of life. That's not good enough. We will halve it in a decade. Today we announce a range of measures to bear down on abusers, stopping them in their tracks. Rapists, sex offenders and abusers will have nowhere to hide."

"The government said that the plans for the new rape and sexual offences teams would be headed by specialist investigators trained to understand offender behaviour. The plans are in part a response to Operation Soteria, a Home Office project commissioned under the Conservatives in 2021 in response to concerns about how reports of sexual violence were investigated and low charge rates. Early data from the project suggested half the rape investigation teams were not fully qualified."

All police forces in England and Wales will have dedicated rape and sexual offences teams by 2029. Domestic abuse protection orders will be introduced after a regional pilot, allowing judges in civil and criminal proceedings to impose sanctions such as electronic tagging and exclusion zones, with breaches punishable by up to five years in jail. The government will invest almost 2m in crack police squads made up of covert online investigators to target internet abusers. Violence against women and girls is being treated as a national emergency with a goal to halve such crimes in a decade. Specialist investigators will receive training on offender behaviour, rape mythology and cultural issues, and some officers will be trained as sexual violence first responders to improve initial contact with victims.

Read at www.theguardian.com