Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs has responded to Baroness Louise Casey’s review into the Metropolitan Police’s culture, standards, and behaviour. Here’s what she had to say.
“The experiences of victims and survivors laid out in this report are profoundly appalling and incredibly harrowing. They reflect what we hear from survivors daily especially minoritised survivors who face additional barriers to reporting.
For many, this report will serve to vindicate and recognise their experiences, which have for far too long, been silenced and ignored.
I am glad the Met is acknowledging the scale of the challenge it faces. This must be a watershed moment. I will arrange to meet the Met Commissioner, Mark Rowley, to ensure that there is demonstrable progress and scrutiny. The time for lip service is over.
There’s been a lot of talk about the operational focus on domestic abuse and serious violence but as this review makes clear, there is no evidence that has been backed up in reality with resources.
This must be rectified as forces work to implement the serious violence duty and prioritise responses to domestic abuse as part of the Strategic Policing Requirement.
The establishment of the Met’s Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences Investigation Unit is a positive, but I want to see more specialist domestic abuse protection units across England and Wales; more robust action to rid forces of police perpetrators and more stringent vetting procedures to stop abusers entering forces in the first place.
I don’t believe this is just a Met issue. Cultural change is required across all forces and that will need strong leadership from every constabulary and from the Home Secretary which I will raise with her at our meeting next week.”
