Every officer and staff member to undergo specialist domestic abuse training

Every single officer and staff member at Cleveland Police will receive specialist domestic abuse training so we can continue to protect vulnerable people.

The force initially rolled out the Domestic Abuse Matters (DA Matters) training programme in December 2020 to Response and Neighbourhood officers.

It was then rolled out to our Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and specialist teams and the force is now extending this crucial training to all staff within the organisation.

To date, almost 1,500 officers and staff have received the training and the programme will continue to run throughout 2025.

The College of Policing and the domestic abuse charity, SafeLives, worked with key stakeholders to develop ‘Domestic Abuse Matters’, a bespoke cultural change programme for police officers and staff in England and Wales.

It has been designed to transform the response to domestic abuse, ensuring the voice of the victim is placed at the centre, and controlling and coercive behaviour is better understood.

The programme is designed to have long-term impact: changing and challenging the attitudes, culture and behaviour of the police when responding to domestic abuse. 

In the 12 months to September 2024, Cleveland Police recorded 13,191 domestic abuse crimes involving 8, 700 different victims.

Superintendent Helen Wilson who is the force lead for Adult Safeguarding said: “It’s crucial that everyone is familiar with the signs of domestic abuse, whatever their role in the police.

“Every victim of domestic abuse deserves the absolute best from us so we need to ensure that we have the right knowledge and tools at our disposal to deal with incidents in a thorough and compassionate manner.

“This training will give all our staff the confidence to recognise domestic abuse so they can keep vulnerable members of the public safe from harm and support colleagues or loved ones who may be experiencing abuse.

“As a force, we remain committed to tackling domestic abuse and this training forms part of our ongoing work to stamp out violence against women and girls in our communities.”

Ellen Miller, Chief Executive of SafeLives, said: “We are pleased to be working with Cleveland Police and our fantastic team of experienced associate trainers to deliver DA Matters, a cultural change programme created with survivors and designed to create long term, sustainable change. 

“We know that Cleveland Police becoming an adopter force of DA Matters will be welcome news for victims and survivors of domestic abuse, as the programme is designed to increase awareness and understanding of coercive and controlling behaviour and create attitudinal change throughout the entire force.  

“Enabling first responders to give a victim the right support for them, at the right time for them, leads to better outcomes and restores trust between survivors and police officers.  

“Victims domestic abuse and police officers alike want to know that the criminal justice response to domestic abuse is as good as it can be. Cleveland Police adopting DA Matters is an important step towards that.” 

Our officers work closely with local partner agencies to safeguard and protect anyone impacted by domestic abuse. You can report domestic abuse of any kind to Cleveland Police at any time of night or day – please phone 101 or report online.

More information is available on our website: Advice about domestic abuse | Cleveland Police