Enhanced Domestic Abuse Bill introduced to Parliament

The Domestic Abuse Bill will today (03/03) have its first reading in Parliament and is an enhanced version of the bill previously put before Parliament in previous sessions.

Enhancements in this version of the bill include the requirement for tier one local authorities in England to provide support and safe accommodation for victims and their children. In addition to this, the bill will encompass trends such as ‘tech abuse’ and economic abuse.

Source: Gov.uk

Delays in Decisions on Modern Slavery Cases

Freedom of information data published in the Independent has revealed that the number of people waiting for more than two years for a decision from the the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) has increased by 52% since June 2019. The NRM is the UK’s framework for identifying victims of modern slavery. Concerns have been raised that these delays could result in victims not receiving the necessary help and being forced back into exploitation.

The increase in wait time for a decision coincides with an increase in the number of people referred to the NRM, which has led to call for the NRM to be independent of the Home Office, or for increased investment to meet the demand.

Source: The Independent

Shining a light on betrayal: Abuse of position for a sexual purpose

HMICFRS have published the report Shining a light on betrayal: Abuse of position for a sexual purpose. The report examines the theme of the abuse of position for a sexual purpose in detail nationally, using the findings from the 29 forces in the first two tranches inspected as part of the integrated PEEL assessments.

The reports details that overall, most forces have improved their understanding of the problem and proactive monitoring of sign of corruption. However, there are some forces that have not done this by not focusing enough resources to tackle the issues and not undertaking enough proactive searching for corruption.  

The key issues noted in the report are:

• Vetting – there are too many people working in forces that do not have correct vetting for their role
• Categorisation of corruption intelligence – not all forces are complying with nationally agreed criteria
• Monitoring of workforce use of ICT systems – Some forces do not have software in place to monitor the use of ICT systems
• Effective working with external agencies – not all forces have done enough to develop effective links with other agencies to identify warning signs of inappropriate behaviour
• Corruption – Many forces are not proactive enough at communicating with the public about corruption and many counter-corruption units do not have enough capacity

The report contains five recommendations, three of which are aimed at police forces. The report can be read in full here.

Source: HMICFRS

Victims’ Code Consultation

The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation aiming to strengthen the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code). The consultation, which will close on 11:59 September 11^th 2019,  comes after victims and groups representing them argued that the code’s complexity, and inconsistencies in the manner in which it was applied, caused some victims to miss out on the support they were entitled to. The MoJ is now seeking views from victims, charities and criminal justice agencies on how to make the code clearer and more accessible.

HMICFRS Report: The Police and CPS response to crimes against older people

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) have published a report on the police and CPS response to crimes against older people.

The main findings of the report were:

1. There is no national police focus on older victims, many of whom are vulnerable.
   Police forces don’t generally treat crimes against older people as a specific category of offending. Older people are not one of the groups of vulnerable people considered by the cross-policing vulnerability and public protection board, and instead are treated as vulnerable only if certain conditions apply or are deemed to be at risk.
2. The police and the CPS can work better together.
   There is little evidence that the CPS’s policy on crimes against older people was being considered and applied by prosecutors. The different national arrangements of the police and the CPS prevent them working together effectively. A good start would be to agree a joint and simple definition of what constitutes a crime against an older person. Police should develop a strategy that accounts for some of the specific problems faced by older people, and should consider whether, nationally, the response to crimes against older people can be organised differently.
3. It is critical that the police have consistent and effective arrangements to make sure people are kept safe.
   HMICFRS found no common approach to how the police work with other organisations that have responsibility for keeping older people safe. Police don’t always identify older people who need safeguarding, and don’t always share information in an effective way. However, they also found some reluctance from partners to become as fully involved with the police in adult safeguarding arrangements as they are in those for children.
4. The police are usually good in their initial dealings with older victims.
   When victims or their representatives called the police, there was mostly an appropriate response. Initial decisions about whether a victim was vulnerable were mainly accurate, and HMICFRS commends this as the result of forces’ investment in training to help officers recognise vulnerability.
5. Investigations are often not good enough.
   Victims’ experiences of the investigation process were frequently characterised by low levels of communication from the police, and police response was inconsistent.
6. There is little evidence that the police are routinely assessing victims’ needs.
   The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime makes it clear that the police should conduct assessments of victims’ needs and whether they need any support. HMICFRS found that vulnerable victims weren’t being treated according to their needs because of omissions and errors within their assessments. They also raise concerns that the referral system does not work as well as it should.
7. The police and the CPS are often poor at dealing with the complex needs of vulnerable older victims.
   Police and the CPS often didn’t consider: different ways for victims to give their best evidence; special measure assessments and meetings; requesting registered intermediaries; and what reasonable adjustments to help victims in court.
8. Crime allocation policies are often not sophisticated enough.
   These allocation policies can make decisions based primarily on crime types, meaning they were not sophisticated enough to produce the right decisions for the particular circumstances of the case.
9. Systems to refer victims to support services remain patchy.
   Echoing the findings of last year’s hate crime review, HMICFRS again found that some victims weren’t being appropriately referred to support services.

Home Office to rewrite controversial advice on trafficked Nigerian women

The Home Office had announced that it will rewrite controversial guidance on handling asylum claims for women who have been trafficked from Nigeria. The controversy stemmed for the inclusion of a paragraph that stated trafficked women who returned from Europe, wealthy from prostitution, would enjoy high social-economic status and do not typically face negative social attitudes.

The Home Office said that the statement was reflective of findings from two credible sources, but that the guidance would be reviewed in light of the concerns.

Source: The Guardian

Home Office to lift cap on ‘inadequate’ help for trafficking victims

The Home Office has announced that it will end the 45-day policy that limits support for victims of trafficking after finding it incompatible with international standards. Instead, the policy will be replaced by a ‘needs-based systems’ which would not be redistricted to any length of time.

This announcement comes after two victims challenged the policy in the High Court which ruled that the 45-day policy was at risk of causing harm to vulnerable individuals and potentially unlawful.

The announcement, which is hoped to end the conflict of interest between the Government’s immigration policies and its modern slavery duties, has been welcomed by lawyers, politicians, and charities. However, there is now a call for the Home Office to clearly define its plans for support.

Source: The Independent

Domestic workers face heightened slavery risk in UK, warns EU study

A study by the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has found that domestic workers face a higher risk of slavery in the UK. The findings of the study have been published in the report Protecting migrant workers from exploitation in the EU: workers’ perspectives. The findings are based on interviews with 237 exploited workers.

The report focuses on the following areas:

• Pathways into severe labour exploitation
• Working and living conditions of exploited workers
• Employers’ strategies to keep workers in a condition of exploitation
• Interviewees’ perceptions of risk factors for severe labour exploitation
• Exploited workers’ access to justice

The report notes that exploitation often starts with people being given false promises and fraud. One of the key findings concerning the United Kingdom is that domestic workers are not protected by legislation that limits the hours an individual can work. This can easily lead to exploitation.

The report details how once an individual is being exploited, the person exploiting them will often use threats, violence and entrapment to keep them from getting access to help.

Source: European Agency for Fundamental Rights

Revenge porn and ‘cyber-flashing’ laws go under review

The government has tasked the Law Commission to examine whether the legislation surrounding the creation and sharing of non-consensual indecent images, as well as the legislation that protects the victims of these crimes, has kept up with the changes in technology. A particular focus has been placed on ‘cyber-flashing’ and ‘deepfake’ images.

The case for granting automatic anonymity in court to victims of such crimes, a practice which already happens to victims of sexual offences, will be considered by the Law Commission. There has been a growing trend of ‘cyber-flashing’ where an individual receives unsolicited sexual images, and ‘deepfake’ images whereby an individuals face is superimposed on a pornographic image or video. This has resulted in the need for better legislation to further protect victims and criminalise perpetrators.

The review, which builds upon current voyeurism legislation is due to report back in 2021.

Source: The Guardian

Compensation rule abolished allowing victims to reapply

From 13 June 2019, more victims of violent crime will be able to apply for compensation after the scrapping of the ‘same roof rule’ which prevented victims receiving compensation if their attacker was a family member, or lived under the same roof at the time of the incident.

The scrapping of the rule will enable victims who were previously denied compensation, or put off from applying because of the rule, the ability to apply.

The scrapping of the same roof rule comes as part of the Victims Strategy which aims to overhaul the support available to victims of crime.

Source: Gov.uk