Domestic abuse campaign results: 330 arrests in 30 days

Northamptonshire Police made 330 arrests for domestic abuse offences during a month-long campaign which involved intense policing activity to clampdown on those wanted for domestic violence, stalking and harassment.

The campaign ran from December 19 until January 17, timed to coincide with an anticipated increase in incidents over the Christmas and New Year period.

The number of arrests was the highest during any single month over the past 18 months and equates to 10 domestic abuse arrests every day – 50 per cent higher than the previous month. In addition, police secured 35 Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs), a record number for the county and by far the highest in the region.

A DVPO is a civil order providing protection to victims by enabling the police and magistrates’ courts to put in place protective measures in the immediate aftermath of a domestic violence incident, where there is insufficient evidence to charge a perpetrator. This means protection to victims via bail conditions.

An important part of the campaign involved the release of the details and photos of particular ‘wanted’ suspects. The Force ran a list of 15 of the county’s most wanted domestic abuse offenders, the bulk of whom were arrested. Four remain outstanding and officers are continuing to actively seek these suspects.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley set his officers the challenge to lock up the county’s most wanted domestic abuse offenders over the festive period. He said: “This is an impressive number of arrests but it doesn’t stop here - tackling domestic abuse continues to be a Force priority. I’ve made it clear we must sustain this level of performance and provide victims with the service they deserve while bringing more offenders to justice.

“Our role is about prevention, protection and prosecution and Northamptonshire Police will go all out to prevent further violence and protect those victims, children and other vulnerable people subjected to such abuse.

“And to those perpetrators of domestic abuse, be under no illusion, we will strive relentlessly to bring you before a court and secure justice for your victims.”

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold, said: ““Domestic abuse is a significant issue in our communities.  It has a major impact on the health and wellbeing of those affected, their children and families.  And it’s important to remember that abuse can be emotional, mental and financial as well as physical and verbal abuse.

“I have already made significant investments in services to support high risk victims as well as Domestic Abuse triage officers and case workers to identify and work with families as early as possible to identify resolve underlying issues which can result in family tensions and abusive behaviours.  We have also introduced Perpetrator and Safe Relationships programmes along with conditional cautions to break the cycle of abuse.

“These initiatives have to work side-by-side with enforcement to ensure that we keep everyone in our community safe, especially in their own homes.  I am pleased with the results of this campaign but am pushing for continued effort from all our services to reduce the impact of domestic abuse as nobody should have to live in fear.”

Detective Superintendent Rich Tompkins, Head of Public Protection, said: “An element of the campaign which has been particularly successful has been the release of the details of our most wanted offenders. We continue to seek information about the whereabouts of these people and thank the public for their support throughout the campaign. Publically naming suspects is a tactic we reserve the right to use again - we owe it to the victims to do everything in our power to protect them.

“Domestic abuse happens all year round and during these unprecedented times when people have to live their lives as never before, it is important that anyone suffering from domestic abuse knows the police are still here working around the clock to keep people safe.

“Sadly, many incidents still go unreported, but we hope this campaign will go some way towards changing that and will encourage anyone impacted by domestic abuse to report it to us.

“We work closely with statutory and voluntary agencies to ensure anyone who suffers domestic abuse gets the help they need, to highlight the issue of domestic abuse and to explore ways in which we can protect our community.”

“I want to encourage anyone suffering from domestic abuse to call their local police on the non-emergency 101 or, in an emergency, always call 999.”