Criminal Justice

The Ministry of Justice has today announced a new scheme to tag hundreds of prison leavers at risk of abusing partners. The government has also announced that over 2,700 victims have been protected from further harassment from their imprisoned abusers thanks to a Prison Service scheme launched last summer. Responding to the announcement, Nicole Jacobs, …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes new measures to protect victims of domestic abuse Read More »

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to reforms to police dismissals announced by the Home Office today. The reforms include: Responding to the reforms, Nicole Jacobs, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales says: “I strongly support new changes to automatically remove police officers that are found guilty of gross misconduct, and to allow officers …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to police gross misconduct reforms Read More »

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales welcomes the publication of the government’s response to the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review conducted by Claire Wade KC. This was commissioned by the government following extensive campaigning from the domestic abuse sector, as well as calls from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the former Victims’ Commissioner, Dame …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes commitment to sentencing reform to provide more robust response to domestic homicides Read More »

“I am really pleased to see that the inspectorate has conducted a review into the Crown Prosecution Service’s handling of domestic abuse cases. “This has highlighted some worrying trends and considerable areas for improvement which can’t be ignored when we are seeing the continued drop in domestic abuse prosecutions (down by a fifth since 2019) …

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to HMCPSI report into the CPS and domestic abuse Read More »

In response to the publication of Baroness Louise Casey’s review into the Met, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said: “The findings of Louise Casey’s year-long review could not be more distressing or damning: “institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia” which we see play out every day has extremely serious consequences for victims and survivors.  “The experiences …

The time for lip service is over, says Domestic Abuse Commissioner.   Read More »

Two years ago, the former Victims Commissioner and I, among many other campaigners, called for a review of domestic homicide sentencing over concerns about gendered disparities in sentencing and more broadly in the criminal justice system.   That review was completed last June, and I am delighted to read Clare Wade KC’s very comprehensive report which …

Clare Wade KC’s raft of recommendations must be taken together Read More »

Domestic abuse incidents continue to remain high in England and Wales and it is extremely concerning to see the figures released by the Crown Prosecution Service today appear to show we are going in entirely the wrong direction for victims when it comes to the criminal justice system. The figures show that the volume of …

Today’s CPS figures show a very worrying trend for domestic abuse victims Read More »

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to joint College of Policing, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) and Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report on police perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA).  Nicole Jacobs says the report has highlighted serious and deeply concerning findings and forces must take swift and extensive action …

Serious failings identified in report on police perpetrated domestic abuse, the Commissioner responds Read More »

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes the introduction of the Non-Fatal Strangulation offence which comes into force today (June 7th) but says a co-ordinated implementation strategy is needed by Government, so the new offence has the impact that is so desperately needed.  Nicole Jacobs said today: “This offence must not be allowed to sit on the …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes new Non-Fatal Strangulation offence but calls on Government to ensure effective implementation Read More »

In response to the latest CPS statistics released today, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said: “I am deeply concerned to see that fewer perpetrators of domestic abuse are being held accountable for their actions, with the number of convictions for these offences falling by almost 15% in the last year. The past year has …

Commissioner responds to latest CPS statistics on domestic abuse Read More »