Police car helps reduce domestic violence

Date published: 23 September 2009

Two vehicles that were brought in to support police in the fight against domestic abuse have been hailed a success.

Since 24 July officers from across Greater Manchester Police’s Rochdale Division have been assigned to the cars at peak times from Friday to Saturday to help reduce the number of victims and families that have been subjected to domestic abuse who or have been brought up in the environment.

Funded by Rochdale Inter Agency Domestic Violence Forum and the Force the vehicles, which have been acting as dedicated quick responses to these type of offences has resulted in 120 fewer repeat incidents of domestic abuse compared to the previous year.

Detective Inspector Meriel Buglass from Rochdale Division, said: “Since the campaign launched we have seen some great results. There have been 16 arrests and a number of our known offenders have been subject to bail checks. Victims have also been re-visited to ensure their continued safety.

“We have also seen the number of our repeat victims fall from 535 incidents to 415. This shows how our dedicated work has paid off and is helping those in the greatest need.

“Our figures have also shown that out of 170 reported incidents of domestic abuse 75% of them resulted in the arrest of the offender. This is a great result and shows that we take this crime seriously and are taking continued positive action. We want to be able to show victims and their families that we want to put an end to this type of violence and the number of our repeat victims.

“Domestic abuse is just that, abuse and we won’t tolerate it. We take this offence seriously and will deal with these offenders accordingly.”