Domestic Abuse Commissioner responds to early release scheme exemptions

Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, said:

“For victims of domestic abuse across the country, this announcement won’t bring reassurance. While it’s good to see more dangerous offenders exempt from this scheme, I remain deeply concerned about the number of abusers who will still be eligible for early release.

“This decision does not change the fact that victims and survivors will still be forced to take measures to protect themselves from dangerous abusers because the government and our criminal justice system cannot.

“Often, they will be doing this alone, as the funding for specialist victim support services has been cut in real terms – forcing many organisations to reduce the support they can offer.

“Earlier this week, the Prime Minister described the scale of violence against women and girls as unacceptable. If he’s serious about the government’s pledge to halve it, urgent measures have to be taken to protect victims and rebuild their trust in a system which has, for too long, ignored their voices.

“No perpetrator should be released before there is a wholesale change to the way a perpetrator’s risk is assessed and managed. This means having victims – and the specialist services who support them – at the heart of the process, and a significant increase in funding for victims’ services to engage with the probation service who will be managing perpetrators.”

Notes to editors

1. The Commissioner is not available for interview.
2. Announcing new specialist rape and sexual offence policing teams, VAWG Protection Order teams and further rollout of the Drive domestic abuse perpetrator programme, the Prime Minister said: “The scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is unacceptable. We must be laser focused on stamping out these vile crimes.”
3. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, along with partners in the specialist domestic abuse sector, is calling for:
   1. The government to publish data on the number of domestic abuse perpetrators released under each tranche of the early release scheme.
   2. The government to provide a substantial funding package for probation and specialist domestic abuse services to underpin robust changes to the risk assessment process, which victims and specialist services have fed into.
4. Research into domestic homicide reviews found that over half of all victims who die at the hands of a partner or family member were subject to coercive control in the lead up to their death. Offenders convicted of coercive control are now set to be released early.  
5. Non-fatal strangulation is one of the strongest indicators of high-risk, potentially lethal domestic abuse behaviour. IFAS analysed 396 published Domestic Homicide Reviews and identified 74 cases with a history of non-fatal strangulation (NFS). In 49% of the DHRs with a history of non-fatal strangulation, the perpetrator of the non-fatal strangulation went on to kill the same victim.  
6. Recent figures suggest around 30% of people being managed by probation are current or former perpetrators of domestic abuse, although the true figure is likely to be higher.  
7. Government figures show that prison recalls in England and Wales have increased to over 51,000 per year, with most recalls resulting from breaches of licence conditions, up 28% on the previous 12 months.
   1. Domestic abuse perpetrators are often released with license conditions which can include not contacting their victim or visiting certain areas, however they are known to frequently breach these conditions to carry out their campaign of abuse. Additional measures included in the Sentencing Act mean that the vast majority of offenders recalled to prison will now be re-released automatically after 56 days (around eight weeks). A breach of license condition against their victim will not prevent a perpetrator from being automatically re-released.  
8. Recent figures suggest around 30% of people being managed by probation are current or former perpetrators of domestic abuse, although the true figure is likely to be higher.  
9. Last year, the government allocated £550 million over three years to victims’ services. Rising inflation, increases to the National Living Wage and higher employer National Insurance contributions mean this is a real terms funding cut. Specialist domestic abuse have raised their concerns about the impact this is having on their ability to support victims and survivors.