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Government funding has been confirmed to establish a dedicated national hub that will centralise policing’s response to violence against women and girls and wider crimes associated with vulnerability.
The creation of a dedicated policing hub will support forces with specialist knowledge and training for investigators and officers, and lead on a national approach to preventing these crimes from happening, with other agencies.
Police chiefs declared violence against women and girls a national emergency last year, and called for a whole-system approach that brings together criminal justice partners, government bodies and industry, to tackle the threat through prevention.
The new centre is a collaboration between the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing, and will initially be based at the College in Warwickshire.
Policing mobilised its response to tackle violence against women and girls at a national level by establishing a dedicated taskforce in 2021. Since then, the taskforce has worked with the College of Policing, the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme, the Child Sexual Exploitation taskforce, government and support organisations to drive consistency and best practice across all forces in England and Wales.
Building on the successes of programs like Operation Soteria, the new centre will work with academics to ensure an evidence-based approach, transforming the way policing looks at and responds to these crimes.
“Every year, at least one in 12 women will be the victim of violence. This is a startling and unacceptable statistic and one which we, collectively, must commit ourselves to changing.
“Policing is dedicated to protecting women and girls by targeting those who seek to harm them; and ensuring victims have the confidence to come forward, that they are listened to, treated compassionately and receive the best possible service.
“That’s why we’ll place victims at the heart of the new centre and work across law enforcement, government and key stakeholders in both the public and voluntary sectors to boost the training we give to officers working in this area.
“The College of Policing will support forces to achieve the highest possible standards and, building on the success of the existing programmes, we will provide policing with the data, research and insight to improve the response to violence against women and girls.
Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, Director of Operational Standards, College of Policing.
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