Funding boost to tackle domestic abuse across West Yorkshire

It will help to deliver a perpetrator intervention service with three specific strands.

A portion of the funding will also be used to expand a West Yorkshire wide ‘location tagging’ programme developed alongside the Police, Probation service and local authorities, to assist in controlling and helping to rehabilitate offenders, whilst protecting local communities.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Mark Burns-Williamson said: “The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it increased isolation, which has subsequently amplified the opportunity for domestic abuse to occur.

“It is an issue that is more relevant now than ever been before and one which we must act quickly to address, particularly as it is unacceptable behaviour and an offence that often goes unreported.

“The funding that we have now secured might just prove to be a lifeline to those whose circumstances have been exacerbated by the current situation.

“It will assist in delivering important perpetrator focussed programmes in local areas and also strengthen the evaluation of any positive interventions, so we can keep building upon our approach.

“To ensure the continuation of these crucial strands of work, both my office and key partners will be providing match funding beyond this Home Office funding.

“Tackling domestic abuse has been a constant theme throughout my Police and Crime Plan and I am committed to doing everything I can with partners to open new doors.

“For instance, I recently invested £362,600 into a two-year contract for the West Yorkshire Integrated Perpetrator and Victim Support Service that focuses on first time perpetrators of domestic abuse who receive a conditional caution in helping prevent further abuse.

“By working together in this way, we can be more effective in our endeavours to keep vulnerable people safe across our communities, recognising their specific needs in these very challenging times.”