There’s too much domestic abuse...

[Nomnomarrgh]

And its too hard to deal with, so the Chief of WMP says the police shouldn’t bother any more.

So they just want to ignore it until it leads to murder and then they'll deal with it? Sounds like a sensible plan

A friend being horribly stalked and abused by her ex-partner only a year ago was told this - (can't/won't do anything until he assaults) Then a woman was killed by her partner in a nearby town and suddenly they couldn't help enough. It took a woman losing her life before the police would help her.

Men are getting away with the murder of women horribly frequently.

This is why.

From The Times:

David Thompson: Free police from handling some domestic cases, suggests chief

Police should be freed from handling some domestic abuse and harassment complaints so they can focus on fighting crime and responding to emergencies, one of the country’s most senior police officers has suggested.

David Thompson, chief constable of West Midlands police, said forces were increasingly responsible for “policing relationships”, safeguarding and protection but it was “debatable whether or not that’s actually something best discharged by the police in all cases”.

His remarks drew anger from Refuge, a leading support charity, which said that domestic abuse was a “serious life-threatening crime and all police should respond to it as such”.

However, Mr Thompson, who runs the second largest force in England and Wales, said that a very high proportion of domestic abuse referrals were unlikely to end up in the criminal justice system and many were made by people seeking help but not prosecutions. In some cases, he told The Times, that “doesn’t feel to me like that’s what the police should be doing”.

He emphasised that the police always investigated allegations of domestic violence and persistent abuse. “Unquestionably, when people phone us about domestic violence where they are being attacked, where they are subjected to criminal activity, where somebody needs to be detained and arrested and a criminal investigation takes place, we are absolutely the right agency.”

However, he said that the police were being asked to do so much that it was time to review whether responsibilities such as domestic violence protection orders, a civil power which prevents contact between victims and perpetrators, could be handled elsewhere.

“There are 1,000 harassment reports a week,” he said. “That’s 14 per cent of crime. That volume of work that’s largely around policing relationships is growing so enormously that it’s consuming more and more resources.

“It strikes me a lot of what the public think the police ought to be doing is actually being prompt attenders when they’re in an emergency, investigating crimes like burglary or when they’ve been assaulted, and tackling some of the challenges like organised crime.”

Mr Thompson was speaking before the release of a report for the think tank Reform. In it he calls for Whitehall to create “permanent secretaries of place” to work on priorities in the regions, including cutting crime.

Of course women will stay with an abuser if they believe that the alternative is that their abuser will be given unsupervised access to their children if they leave.

If it was accepted by family courts that abusing a child's mother was also abuse of the child, it's likely that more women in suffering abuse would leave.

Almost all mothers out their children's needs ahead of their own - including staying with an abuser if they believe that would protect their child.

Have any of the people posting ever spent a shift with the police. I would highly recommend it and it may change your views somewhat. He's not talking about DV he's talking about about the police being dragged into relationship disputes in which there are no or offences or ones that are so minor as to be pointless. This would free up resources to deal with those most at risk of DV which would be a good thing.

What an absolute out and out bastard.

Of course the point of this statement is to send a message to women (and children and men) who are experiencing violence) sexual violence in the home, to not bother reporting.

That will save them calls and time and effort. Just dissuade people from reporting.

His statement that if there's a low prosecution rate then we can't be arsed so don't bother getting in touch is interesting as anyone who reads the news will know that rape prosecutions are at an all time low. So we can safely assume that he's hinting strongly at that as well.

Is this the force who sent an officer round to 'check thinking' because of a retweet?

Yes they do have much better things to do.

On DV. Even if you don't give a fuck, as a police officer, about women (children, men) being brutalised/ sexually brutalised in their own homes. What about the fact that all the terrorist types seem to start with DV? Seems even that's not enough of a reason to take it seriously. Or even worry about it at all.

Of course met chief Cressida dick said a couple of years ago that she wasn't interested in historic child sex abuse or rape where the victim knew the accused prior to the attack.

So shouldn't be surprised that the police feel this way but still every time they come out and say it, it still shocks.

Never been a police officer or gone on a shift. Have called the police after I ran away with my dd after many years of rape and abuse. Police told me not to bother pressing charges.

The problem is, you see it on here all the time. Sometimes people are in an abusive situation are so groomed for want of a better word they don't see it as abuse, even when it is physical.

Its the easiest thing in the wotld to sweep these abuses under the carpet, but another consideration is the amount of violent offenders who quietly got away with domestic abuse for years before harming others.

I just don't see what's so complicated about it. Whether the victim stays with the abuser or not, you can't go around beating people up. The victim blaming needs to stop.

I'm sorry if mt post came across as victim blaming that wasn't my intent.

Not having the greatest day and didn't complete my thought process.

What I meant was, police are saying they should only be involved with serious domestic abuse situations but the point of domestic abuse is to discombobulate the victim to such an extent that they may not feel or even realise how bad their situation is.

Honestly I've ready horrific threads in Relationships, women violently assauted, sexually abused, isolated. I won't repeat the ones that stand out to me as they were very upsetting and may be triggering, but those examples in particular the women thought this was just something they had to endure, and these are just the type of women who will read these news stories and will be put off from contacting the police for fear of being seen as time wasters.

His statement that if there's a low prosecution rate then we can't be arsed so don't bother getting in touch is interesting as anyone who reads the news will know that rape prosecutions are at an all time low.

Yeah thats a really shitty way of looking at it. 'Barely anyone gets punished when they commit this crime, so lets not bother even trying to go after the few that might get punished. The system absolutely does not need an overhaul, women just have to shut up and report less then we have more time for important cases such as fining a family for having an extra guest for Sunday dinner, or going after someone for writing a tweet that someone else didn't like' '

This bit is just shocking to me

'It's not we don't have a role, it's whether the extent of the police role is impacting upon some of the other things that I think the public need us for.

Which reads to me as, domestic violence is not an important matter at all, way down the totem pole, the public also think there are more important things to worry about. Which , again, I am baffled about as to why the police spend ANY time 'checking peoples thinking'. When apparently they have not the time nor resources to deal with actual crime

It's not we don't have a role, it's whether the extent of the police role is impacting upon some of the other things that I think the public need us for.

Which reads to me as, domestic violence is not an important matter at all, way down the totem pole, the public also think there are more important things to worry about. Which , again, I am baffled about as to why the police spend ANY time 'checking peoples thinking'. When apparently they have not the time nor resources to deal with actual crime

I read it even worse still:

The police do not consider women to be the public. Only men are the public.

I can see both sides of this.
Women on here are often advised to call police to "log" an incident, to help if they need togo to court in future for a restraining order. I don't think the police should be there to keep a log of "proof" that a partner is abusive personally. It probably is resource intensive recording this and being involved in enforcing restraining orders etc.
The problem is though, who else is going to do it? There is no resource anywhere to deal with this.
Maybe a proper strategy needs to be put in place

Well yes.

I said to DH last night. When did you hear the police say we're not going to bother about mass punch ups outside pubs, football hooliganism, or non lethal knife crime in gangs?

Never.

What he means is the same as forever. The police are there to police public space and focus on the sort of violent crime men do to each other on the street, or property crime.

Crime in the home is a personal matter for the man of the household. If he wants to damage his own property (women children) that is his business and it's not for the police to interfere.

Extended for modern times to include seeing same sex violence in the home as a personal matter.

Thanks Mr policeman! At possibly the beginning of a lockdown, sending s message loud and clear to victims of DV not to bother the police with it.

And he's the head of a force. There's no way that wasn't his intention. Same as Cressida dick with historic child rape, and sex offences committed by anyone except a stranger.

Thanks guys! Your message, combined with the stats you so kindly share, is received and understood.

How long till they point out that any murders of people especially women over 18, whether the victim knew the perpetrator or not, are not worth reporting if the man had an erection while he committed the murder.

Actually what does happen if people stop reporting murder of women on the basis that the prosecution and conviction rates are low?

I suppose he'll clear up on thought crime so jobs a good un.

The number of women saying they would think really hard before reporting a rape of themselves or their daughters if they are over puberty... Nice job! You utter utter utter bastards.

Here’s the link to Dave Thompson’s Twitter account twitter.com/davethompsoncc?s=21

As well as WM Police where I’ve let them know my thoughts.

twitter.com/wmpolice?s=21

But yeah as someone who suffered domestic abuse / stalking from a family member Im estranged from, where I’d been attacked, the Police just look bored to be there when I called them. They kept looking at each other, rolling their eyes. Bearing in mind this man had sprained by ankle & was screaming down the phone trying to other relatives trying to stalk me AFTER they’d assaulted me.

I sadly live in the West Midlands so great to hear how little they take these crimes seriously.

Here’s the link to Dave Thompson’s Twitter account

twitter.com/davethompsoncc?s=21

As well as WM Police where I’ve let them know my thoughts.

twitter.com/wmpolice?s=21

But yeah as someone who suffered domestic abuse / stalking from a family member Im estranged from, where I’d been attacked, the Police just look bored to be there when I called them. They kept looking at each other, rolling their eyes. Bearing in mind this man had sprained by ankle & they were screaming down the phone trying to other relatives trying to stalk me AFTER they’d assaulted me.

The number of women saying they would think really hard before reporting a rape of themselves or their daughters if they are over puberty... Nice job! You utter utter utter bastards.

I would never report a rape unfortunately. I did not report when I was raped in the past. And I would definitely have my daughter think it through before she reported, should the worst happen to her. Not 'discourage her' as such, but let her know how female victims are treat in court and the likelihood (or, un-likelihood) of a conviction after being treat like the criminal for being a victim, and let her decide from there.

As from what I have seen, the victims are treat much worse than the rapists. Ripped apart, aggressively cross examined, whole sexual history brought up, knickers passed round, constant rape myths, and so on. And even with all of that, a conviction is like golddust. Hell even if there is a shitload of evidence , witnesses, physical injuries, even tapes of it happening, rapists get off with it.

So I would not want her (or me..or any woman really) going through that, only for him to get away with it anyway. Awful state of affairs

Among friendship groups, this seems a quite common opinion too. It really should not be that way.

I’d report it knowing I’d unlikely get a conviction as I’d atleast want him to suffer some consequence. Even if that consequence is having six months terrified of prison on the lead up to the court case.