Police involvement

Encourage survivors to report incidents to the police.  Some survivors will be reluctant or won’t want to pursue a criminal conviction. This could be because they are afraid of repercussions or because they care about the perpetrator and worry about the consequences for them if they do (for example parents can often refuse to report a son or daughter to the police or may deny that domestic abuse is happening at all).

Support and steps taken to make a survivor safer and feel safer can help them to take this step.

The sooner a case is investigated by the Police, the greater the chance of a successful prosecution. The police can also help in other ways by flagging the survivor’s address on their system for example to help them respond to reports quickly.

If there is insufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution, for example where the survivor does not want to make a statement or where the suspect makes a counter allegation and there is no independent corroborative evidence, the Police can obtain a Domestic Violence Protection Order from a court. It sets out conditions the subject of the order must adhere to, breach of which are an arrestable offence and can result in court action.

Note if a survivor has disclosed DVA, or you have concerns or have received reports that they may be experiencing DVA, and they have declined support, refer to the section above “what to do if you are told about domestic abuse”