Criminal Justice

Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner, says: “Perpetrators of domestic homicide should not be allowed to dictate from the prison cell decisions about the children whose parent they have killed. I strongly welcome the principles of Jade’s Law.   “Today’s announcement is down to the tireless campaigning of the family of Jade Ward, who have fought to protect Jade’s …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner welcomes government’s announcement of Jade’s Law Read More »

Today a new report has been published sharing findings from an ongoing online survey of survivors of rape and sexual assault and their experiences of the police in England and Wales as part of Operation Soteria Bluestone.  It contains the voices of the 1,968 survivors with police experience who completed the survey between 16 January – …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Operation Soteria Bluestone Rape and Sexual Assault Survivor Survey Read More »

The Metropolitan police force has announced the ‘largest reform of culture and standards in decades’, including: Responding to the announcement, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, says: “That so many officers are under investigation for violence against women is further evidence of the unacceptable culture at the heart of the Metropolitan police that has been …

Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to Metropolitan Police investigations into more than 1,600 police officers and staff Read More »

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 »