The Government’s Safeguarding Minster Jess Phillips has admitted the Domestic, Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-Based Violence (DASH) assessment, used to decide which victims of domestic abuse get urgent support, doesn’t work in a recently published podcast on the BBC.
‘File on 4 Investigates’ reviews the effectiveness of the Dash Assessment; which is one of the primary triage tools for those on the front line of dealing with domestic abuse, including charities, social workers and the police. It is estimated 20% of all police recorded crime relates to domestic abuse, accounting for over 400,000 recorded incidents each year.
The podcast address what it describes as a ‘weight of evidence’ building around the effectiveness of Dash and what is being done to tackle concerns.
One of those interviewed by podcast host Leila Nathoo is Ellen Miller, CEO at charity SafeLives who created Dash in 2009 and who still provide training on its use. Miller acknowledges there are issues with Dash as an indicator but points the changing dynamics of risk in domestic abuse situations, and the ability of those completing Dash assessments to do so effectively; ‘any risk assessment tool is only as good as the person using it’ adds Miller.
Nathoo suggests recent independent studies highlight the scale of the issues with Dash. A report in Manchester identified 96% of those rated in retrospect as high tisk, were initially rated a standard or low risk; and in 88% of cases, repeated violence was classed as standard or medium risk. As one user put it, Dash is ‘as useful as a coin toss.’
It is also understood legal action is being considered by families of women murdered by their partners after not being graded high risk by Dash after they they believe institutions failed their loved ones. There were 108 domestic homicides in England and Wales in the year to March 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.
According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the BBC 20 out of 39 police forces across the UK which responded to freedom of information requests said they currently used Dash assessments, despite the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) recommending forces should use a new questionnaire, Dara, developed by the College of Policing, in 2022, because of the inconsistencies in Dash.
But Jess Phillips acknowledges the challenges and is quick to point out the fixes need to be the right fixed. Nothing has been done to improve Dash since its introduction in 2009. On top of that Phillips says while it might have been conceived as be one part of a structured approach to assessing risk, after years of cuts it is in effect being used as part of a ‘rationed’ service. She adds
“my instinct is it doesn’t work. but we can’t just replace it… just having a better tool will not improve outcomes on its own. Change will happen as quickly and as safely as it can (but) whether the tools are right or wrong, the professionals involved are the most important thing.”
A review of Dash and the wider domestic abuse risk process has been commissioned by the government to be conducted by SafeLives. .
Domestic Abuse: Beyond the Checklist is available on BBC Sounds now.
