Cleveland Police’s response to the NPCC’s National VAWG Policing Statement

Following the publication of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) National Policing Statement on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) this week, Cleveland Police has reinforced its commitment to tackling VAWG.

VAWG is not a single type of crime, but a collection of offences including Domestic Abuse (DA), Sexual Assault and Stalking and Harassment.

Cleveland Police takes reports of sexual assault and rape extremely seriously and we are continuing our work to tackle the issue through Operation Soteria. Operation Soteria is a national programme to transform the approach to rape investigations and prosecutions, improving support for victims and putting the focus on the suspects. 

In the Cleveland Police area, in the year April 2023 to April 2024, there has been a 15% reduction in reported Rape offences compared with the previous year (April 2022 to April 2023). 

Furthermore, a total of 180 officers will have completed the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Investigative Skills Development Programme (RISDP) by the end of this year.

As a force, we deal with a high number of Domestic Abuse incidents, and we’re committed to driving those numbers down through enforcement and proactive policing.

During a Domestic Abuse-focused Operation in December, we arrested 20 men on suspicion of domestic-related offences including Stalking, Rape, Assault and Controlling and Coercive Behaviour. This was just one day of focussed activity – Cleveland Police strive to protect people every day and made arrests in relation to 5713 domestic abuse crimes across the whole of 2023.

Protecting our people and protecting our communities is a main priority for the force and we have some of the highest number of applications for Clare’s Law which enables the police to release information about any previous history of violence or abuse a person might have.

Under Clare's Law, you can apply for information about your current or ex-partner because you're worried, they may have a history of abuse and are a risk to you or request information about the current or ex-partner of a friend or relative because you're worried they might be at risk.

Our officers can also apply for protective orders to safeguard victims including Stalking Protection Orders, restraining orders, non-molestation orders and Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders, and rigorously enforce any breaches of such orders.

Victims can also benefit from Independent Stalking Advocates (ISAs) who form part of a service operated by national stalking and personal safety charity the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, who we work closely with, and are funded by Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland.

Officers are also receiving internal briefings on stalking offences and DA to ensure incidents are recorded appropriately so we can provide the correct response and support.

Detective Superintendent Helen Barker, Head of Child Safeguarding and the force-lead on VAWG, said: “The national policing statement, although provides some shocking data, is unfortunately no surprise to those of us who work in the police service.

“The harm, and significant threat of harm, caused by Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault and Stalking and Harassment, is grossly concerning and here in Cleveland we are one of the policing areas with the highest number of these types of incidents. This is simply not acceptable and Cleveland Police is doing everything it can to tackle VAWG and protect our communities and the women and girls who deserve to feel safe and be safe.  

“Our officers sadly deal with incidents of Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assaults every day, and see too many women and girls suffer at the hands of perpetrators determined to make their victims lives a misery, make them feel scared, and cause emotional or physical harm. Police Officers join the service to protect people from harm – and that is true of Police Officers in Cleveland Police. Specialist trained officers also work with Domestic Abuse support partners, and other agencies, to try and tackle the root cause of these issues – but there is a long way to go and we can’t do it alone.

“Cleveland Police welcomes the National Policing Statement because it brings the issue to the forefront and provides a vehicle for the police, the wider criminal justice system and other agencies, to come together to make sure we protect women and girls in every corner of our society.”

If you’re worried someone may be at risk or a person poses a risk to another, you can ask us for a disclosure under ‘Clare’s Law’.  For more information on how to submit a request please go to Request information under Clare's Law: Make a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application | Cleveland Police

Every single report is investigated thoroughly regardless of when it happened so, please report any incidents to us on 101. You can also report incidents to us online via the Cleveland Police website.