West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson is launching a £700,000 scheme to tackle domestic violence and abuse.
The two-year Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme (DVPP) will cover the entire West Midlands building on projects in Sandwell, Walsall and Coventry.
The scheme will target husbands and boyfriends who commit domestic violence and abuse. Experts will work closely with them to reduce their offending and improve families’ lives for the better.
It is a voluntary programme for fathers aged 18 and over who have been asked to participate in the programme as part of a Child Protection Plan or Child in Need Plan.
A support service for their female partners and children will also be provided by the West Midlands Domestic Violence Consortium.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said: “Supporting victims of domestic abuse is crucial work that will continue. This project aims to reduce that abuse happening in the first place.
“The Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme will work with offenders to change their ways and improve the safety of their families.
“I am funding this new scheme for an initial two years. I hope it will make a real difference and improve the lives of hundreds of families.”
Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe added: “Whilst the police service has strived to improve the police response to domestic abuse and improve outcomes for victims, the impact is limited without a sustained effort to change the behaviour of perpetrators. I welcome this initiative which will ensure we can work together to keep victims and families safe.”
The Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner is now looking to appoint an organisation or consortium to deliver the DVPP.
The aim of the programme is to get offenders to change their ways, improve safety for women and children and reduce reoffending.
Maureen Connolly, the lead for domestic abuse on the PCC’s Victims Commission and Chief Executive of Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid, said: “The West Midlands Specialist Domestic Abuse Consortium has been impressed by the considered approach that the Police and Crime Commissioner has taken in developing the forthcoming domestic abuse perpetrator programme. The commitment to its delivery, as one element of an integrated offender management model, is to be welcomed and our specialist agencies look forward to working alongside to offer support and guidance to women and their children who have been harmed by abuse at the hands of the perpetrators that will be in the programme.”
Kathy Cole-Evans, Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum manager, added: “I’m delighted to have played a part in the development of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner’s regional domestic violence perpetrator programme. This pilot programme will begin to address a significant demand for interventions to safely tackle the root cause of domestic violence and abuse.
“The programme’s perpetrator work will use national good practice and standards to change the behaviours and actions of domestic violence and abuse perpetrators. Perpetrator programmes focus on the safety of domestic violence and abuse victims and their children, and this programme will uphold this principle through existing local specialist services providing tailored support to victims, survivors, and children of the perpetrators taking part in the programme. Partnerships across the region welcome this investment as one element of our joint efforts to reduce the wide-ranging harms and incidence of domestic violence and abuse.”
More information on the scheme can be found here.
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