Pioneering response car attending domestic violence emergencies in Wigan is making a difference

An IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Advisor) car will now be responding to these types of emergency call-outs alongside an officer, offering help to victims straight away.

One of the hopes is that it will reduce the number of people who make allegations and then withdraw them: a decision that can heighten the risk of further abuse, some incidents of which might end tragically.

Another is that it would improve conviction rates for abusers.

Greater Manchester Police is working closely with Wigan Council on the pilot project as part of the Place and Community Safety Partnership which brings together multiple agencies to address local issues.

It has been in place in the borough since the end of July and Wigan is seeing the first IDVA car being trialled in the force area.

If successful it is hoped that the scheme will then be rolled out to the rest of GMP.

Chief Insp Clare Anderson said: “We had the mental health car here so we applied the same principle with the IDVA with the officer going straight to the job to see if that could improve services and to see if we stop repeat demand in the district.

"The IDVA will go straight out with the response officer and as it’s heading there, there will be another officer going out to carry out an arrest. Then this secondary team will take statements and so on and provide that support.

"The police officer will get important experience by sitting alongside an IDVA and this knowledge will come in handy when they’re dealing with someone without an IDVA present.

"I’m really proud to say we are working with the council on this project to offer the best service possible to victims of domestic violence.

"The car was implemented in July to service the whole borough and we’re once we’ve trialled it and proved the success it provides the victims, this will then be implemented across the force.”

An Independent Domestic Violence Advisor is a specialist professional who works with a victim of domestic abuse to provide them with everything they need to become safe and rebuild their life.

They also represent the victims’ voices at a Multi-agency Risk Assessment Conference (Marac), as well as help them to navigate the criminal justice process and working with the different statutory agencies to provide wrap-around support.

By having this scheme, the hope is to reduce the delay in support and raise awareness to other officers how victims may present when they first attend the scene of an incident.

Council domestic abuse prevention hub manager Kieran Davies said: “The role of an IDVA is primarily to work with victims, those that are deemed of high-risk of homicide or significant harm.

"The main idea is to advocate on behalf of them, to support them through things like court orders and police updates and to support them holistically with any needs they have such as drug and alcohol, financial and rehousing issues.

"We’re very much led by what that victim wants.

"What usually happens (when domestic abuse is reported) is the officers go out and conduct their initial inquiries.

"It then comes through to Marac and just before that point the IDVAs will contact the victim, represent them at that process and then go out to them.

"Although we’re quite close to the front end of it, there’s still that slight delay.

"What the car is aiming to do is reduce that.

"The idea is to get that support in as soon as possible because we know it is crucial in terms of keeping that victim on board, giving them the confidence to speak out.

"That’s were the car is different. Obviously the frontline officers are still going out and responding to 999 call but this is about afterwards: doing as much as we can and gathering as much information as we can as quickly as possible.

"Its about improving services for victims but its also about that collaborative working and understanding each others roles and sharing them skillsets.

"We work really close together but this an opportunity to see each other’s worlds and share that knowledge.

"A victim once said to me ‘thanks for not giving up on me’ which shows the tenacity and the success of this partnership”.

Despite the scheme only being in operation for a few weeks, the team already feels the service has been enhanced, making the victim and their family safer quicker.

It is currently operating a mixture of out-of-hours services at evenings and weekends as well as daytime shifts to see the differences of the jobs coming through and what the response is like.

Portfolio holder for police, crime and civil contingencies Coun Dane Anderton said: “Overall it’s enhancing that safeguarding and keeping children with the right parent.

"It is cementing that partnership working under the police and the Place and Community Safety Partnership.

"It is a classic example of the ongoing work and a testament to the strength of that partnership and it is something we are really proud to work with GMP on our domestic abuse strategy and to make sure we can reduce violence across our borough.

"This partnership means we can have the right people around the table at the right time and learn from each other because we don’t have all the answers. They don’t have all the answers either but together we can find the right ones and develop our services.

"This project is about enhancing our offer to domestic abuse victims no matter what sexuality or gender.

"This is an example of an innovative approach like our Love Is Not Abuse campaign which is an award-winning campaign to make them much more aware of the signs of domestic abuse.”