Category: United Kingdom National Police Chiefs Council

Joint commitment from NPCC, CPS and College of Policing 

Police chiefs, the College of Policing and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are today announcing a joint commitment to transforming how they investigate, handle and prosecute domestic abuse to ensure victims are better supported, timeliness is improved, and more offenders are brought to justice. 

Domestic abuse can have a severe and long-term impact on victims and their children, including physical, mental health and economic difficulties.

Taking a similar approach to policing and CPS’ joint national action plan for rape, the three organisations are committing to working together to drive improvements in their response to domestic abuse by developing a national Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP). 

Under the DA JJP, the organisations will work together from the earliest stage to build robust, victim-centred and suspect-focused investigations and prosecutions which focus on the suspect’s actions before, during and after an alleged offence.

Baljit Ubhey, CPS director of strategy and policy, said:

“Domestic abuse is a devastating crime that can have a life-long impact on victims of all different backgrounds and ages. 

“Our people work incredibly hard every day to bring offenders of this despicable crime to justice and there is no greater job satisfaction than knowing we have played our part in protecting victims and their families from harm and helping them move on with their lives – but we know there is still more work to do. 

“This joint commitment is just the first step in our journey to transforming domestic abuse victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system – from report to outcome – and we are confident we can do better and provide greater protection for them and their children while bringing more offenders to justice.” 

Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, NPCC lead for domestic abuse, said:

“Domestic abuse is more than a third of violent crime.  As justice agencies, it is essential we work together to better safeguard victims, hold offenders to account, and prevent the cycle of reoffending and victimisation. 

“Domestic abuse devastates families and we want to work with the many brilliant charities who support victims. Listening to victims’ voices, we will ensure that our plan better meets their needs.

“For too many victims, their journey through the criminal justice system leads to further trauma and we know the interactions between our agencies need to be better.”

College of Policing Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, also the NPCC lead for violence against women and girls, said:

“Domestic abuse accounts for almost one in five crimes and in policing we sadly see huge numbers of victims every week. It is part of a range of crimes which disproportionately affect women and children including stalking, harassment and controlling or coercive behaviour.  

“Behind each of these crimes is a devastated victim and we know that we must do better for them. Which is why we have joined forces with the CPS on this plan. It will be ambitious but we know that victims deserve this focus so that they can feel safer in their homes and in their lives.” 

Chief Constable Rob Nixon, NPCC lead for criminal justice, said:

“Investigating and prosecuting domestic abuse cases can be complex and so by working together, we can start to simplify the process for victims, ensuring that the outcomes they desire are at the forefront of our minds. Wherever possible, we should be listening to victims and understanding the dynamics of human relationships so that their needs and wishes are taken into consideration.

“We look forward to delivering a plan which seeks to focus on a partnership approach from the outset, with an emphasis on timeliness and quality at every stage and improves everyone’s experience of the criminal justice system for domestic abuse.”

The core commitments in the plan will fall under the following three themes:  

• Efficacy, culture and cohesion: by working together, we build strong cases from the outset.  
• Effectiveness and supporting victims: victims of domestic abuse have confidence and engage with criminal justice partners.  
• Efficiency and timeliness: we secure swift justice for victims of domestic abuse and hold perpetrators to account.   

If a victim feels unable to continue with their journey in a criminal case, this can lead to a recurrence of abuse. The plan will tackle how to build strong cases right from the start, supporting the victim’s needs while relentlessly pursuing the perpetrator and bringing justice in whichever form the victim feels is appropriate for them.

The next steps in developing and implementing the plan will be to engage closely with those with lived experience through partners and stakeholders before launching the national plan in the spring of 2024.

Following the roll-out of E2EE.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Child Protection, Abuse and Investigation, Ian Critchley, said:

“On average policing arrests 800 suspected offenders a month and safeguards on average 1200 children a month in relation to child sexual exploitation (CSE) offences.

“There are staggering numbers of reports coming from social media companies with a large volume of them coming from Meta owned sites. However, the introduction of Meta’s new end-to-end encryption (E2EE) will have a dangerous impact on child safety. Meta will no longer be able to see messages from online groomers which contain child sexual abuse material and therefore they won’t be able to refer it to the police.

“Being able to identify the ways that criminals are targeting and grooming our children and vulnerable people online is vital. Not only can this evidence help secure prosecutions but it can also identify victims so police can bring an end to their exploitation.

“By introducing end to end encryption, social media companies are putting the safety of children at risk without providing an alternative, whilst also ignoring warnings from child safety charities and experts. There is a moral responsibility on media companies to ensure this does not happen.

“Policing is not against privacy or encryption in general, however it cannot be done at the expense of a child’s safety. We know children will always be online and that paedophiles will continue to go to those same online spaces to target, groom and abuse them. We know that the problem is increasing all the time and the introduction of E2EE will lead to more children becoming victims and having their lives destroyed by something that was preventable.

“Our message to tech companies is simple: work with us and do not implement new technical designs that will stop you and law enforcement from protecting the public. It is imperative that the responsibility of safeguarding children online is placed with the companies who create spaces for them. I am also confident that OFCOM as the regulator of the Online Safety Act will ensure that Meta are held to account for child sexual abuse material being distributed on their platforms without the required and necessary safeguards being in place that E2EE will severely reduce.

“Policing will not stop in its fight against those who commit these horrific crimes. We cannot do this alone, so while we continue to pursue and prosecute those who abuse and exploit children, we repeat our call for more to be done by companies in this space.”

Note to editors:

• Facebook has a hugely positive record of working with law enforcement in the UK and worldwide to protect children from child sex offenders. However, this is being put at risk by Facebook’s role out of end-to-end encryption, which will effectively blind it to these horrific crimes taking place on its platform. This will dramatically reduce their ability to provide law enforcement with the evidence they need to prosecute.
• Child sex offenders are increasingly exploiting social media sites to abuse children. Tech firms working with law enforcement is crucial to tackling online child sexual abuse.
• Online platforms who claim to be responsible, and in particular those allowing users to discover people they don’t know, should not want to help criminals abuse others.
• We want companies like Facebook to remain shoulder to shoulder with UK law enforcement on the frontline of tackling child abuse. They can do this by continuing to detect and report abuse, then provide the evidence that enables policing to act.
• We are also clear that robust two factor authentication on devices, and age and identity verification procedures are vital in respect of encrypted services and platforms.  It is the NCA’s assessment, informed by research with offenders, that identity verification acts as a powerful disincentive to online offending.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Data and Analytics Board are delighted to announce the release of a series of short data awareness videos. These are aimed at enhancing awareness and fostering professional development within data literacy in the policing community.

As part of the ongoing commitment to excellence, these engaging videos offer a light introduction to data management, providing essential context for the pivotal role data plays in modern policing.

Aimee Smith Director of Data at the Metropolitan Police Service, and Co-Chair of the NPCC Data and Analytics Board said:

“The primary objective is to demystify the complexities of data, empowering police staff and officers with the knowledge required to navigate this dynamic landscape effectively.”

The videos are easily accessible via YouTube, ensuring convenient viewing for all members of the policing community:

Aimee went on to praise the dedication of the volunteers on the NPCC Data and Analytics Board and the Police Digital Service, adding:

“These videos are a testament to the volunteers who tirelessly contribute above and beyond their daily responsibilities to develop resources that will benefit front line policing over the coming months”.

Policing professionals are encouraged to actively engage with these videos and promote them internally within their forces. The videos can form the basis of in-house training packages and should be considered a sector-wide free resource.

Your feedback, questions, and suggestions are invaluable, and we invite you to share them by contacting CDAP@pds.police.uk

Further updates will be communicated soon.

Police chiefs seek feedback on new nationally agreed minimum standards for all police forces and their Chief Constables who have police dog units.

A public consultation on the National Police Chiefs’ Council Police Dog Standard is now live and will remain open until 23:59 on the 7 February 2024.

The national standard is an important document, as it sets out how dog units should carry out the day-to-day functions of their unit including, but not limited to: training; welfare; deployment; staffing; health and safety; procurement and retirement; and record keeping. It sets out the police’s use of police dogs in a wider context to general policing activity.

Police dogs play a vital role in keeping our communities safe, and their welfare and happiness is paramount. Chief Constables, our dog handlers, and our entire workforce are committed to providing the very best care to every single one of them.

Have your say

To have your say, read the consultation document then complete the online questionnaire.

Please note that our consultation closes at 11:59am on Thursday 7 February 2024.

Appendix

Tackling County Lines drug dealing remains a strategic priority for policing across England and Wales.

The latest County Lines Intensification Week, coordinated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC)-led National County Lines Coordination Centre (NCLCC), saw over 1,600 arrests, over 100kg of cannabis seized, alongside 40kg of Class A drugs worth over £1.2 million, 33 firearms, 377 bladed weapons, and over £1.2m in cash, as forces made large gains against these gangs and the products that finance their exploitative criminality.

This relentless and robust action to bring down county lines gangs is part of policing’s strategic objective in breaking the model used by the organised criminals and protecting vulnerable people who are being exploited by them.

As part of continued efforts, the NCLCC has released the County Lines Strategic Assessment for November 2020 to October 2022. The assessment shows that policing continues to make good progress in identifying and closing drugs lines, arresting offenders, and safeguarding vulnerable children and adults. 

Commander Paul Brogden, NPCC lead for County Lines, said: “We have made significant inroads to tackle those organised criminals behind county lines across England and Wales. Policing has established successful joint working practices, coordinated through the National County Lines Coordination Centre, which has enabled best practice, experience and knowledge to be shared across the country which has led to significant arrests and shutting down of lines used by criminals. 

“However, we cannot arrest our way out of the threat posed by county lines, and we must ensure we continue to take a much wider approach in order to see long term impact. The County Lines Strategic Assessment provides the base of where we are currently and where we need to go.

“County Lines drug dealing destroys lives, and we are committed to stopping the supply of illegal drugs, and the exploitation and violence that is frequently associated with it.

“Our message is clear to anyone running county lines across the country; we will be relentless in our pursuit of you, we will shut down your county lines, we will take drugs off our streets and we will rescue those who are being exploited by you.”

The County Lines Strategic Assessment for November 2020 to October 2022 can be accessed below.  

Police forces join together in Operation Sceptre 

– 970 knife related arrests made
– Over 3,000 community and school engagement visits
– 12,149 knives surrendered or recovered

Operation Sceptre, the national police initiative to tackle knife crime which took place last week (13 November to 19 November 2023) has seen 13,272 knives removed from our streets and 1,625 people arrested, of which 970 were related to knife crime offences.

Operation Sceptre brings together all 43 police forces across England and Wales in a week of intensified action with forces coordinating activity which targets knife crime from the root cause right through to enforcement. This November, Op Sceptre specifically focused on tackling and disrupting the importation and supply of knives, particularly the growing accessibility of dangerous knives which can be purchased via official online retailers, but in some cases then re-sold via social media.

Op Uchee is a process that manages the interception of packages of illegal weapons imported into the UK. Border Force will scan parcels arriving at Royal Mail’s distribution centre in West London and any which appear to be weapons are opened and examined. Should the weapon be illegal, it will be seized and the recipient reported to their respective police force.

– Weapons examined under Op Uchee

A variety of other tactics were used by forces; including weapons sweeps, engagement with schools and local communities, knife arches in public places and events and knife surrender bins to remove knives off the streets.

Commander Stephen Clayman is National Police Chiefs’ Council Knife Crime Lead. He said:

“Knife crime must be tackled from a number of different angles using a range of tactics and Op Sceptre showcases the breadth of work in our uncompromising mission to reduce the supply of knives as effectively as we can. Alongside robust enforcement action, police forces also look at the underlying causes and undertake many engagement visits to schools and community organisations, which are so vital in educating around the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

“Op Sceptre maybe one of two weeks a year where we amplify how much we talk about our work tackling knife crime but rest assured extensive action is always taking place all over the country by dedicated officers and staff who are doing everything they can to protect their communities from these dangerous weapons.”

– Weapons sweeps conducted by Nottinghamshire Police

The week also focused on education and engagement with members of the public and retailers who sell knives. 2,071 school engagement visits took place alongside over 1,000 community or educational events and officers visited 1,804 retailers to talk about the sale of knives. Of 663 test purchases made with 16 per cent (109) resulting in failures.

Retailers who fail test purchases can be given education and advice and around the regulations when selling knives or prosecuted in some circumstances. A number of police forces also engaged with online knife retailers based in their local area around responsible retail and working in partnership to tackle the concerning rise in online sales.

Commander Clayman continues:

“Over the coming months we want to work more closely with online retailers to ensure they sell responsibly when it comes to knife sales. In order to reduce third-party knife sales to young people, we will need to speak further with social media platforms and understand how they can help us.”

– Commander Clayman observes knives seized under Op Uchee

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens responds to the review published today 

National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens responds to the Policing Productivity Review published today. He said: 

“This review demonstrates the huge strength and breadth of work our officers and staff undertake and we welcome the recommendations which could reduce some of the significant daily burden placed on them.

“Greater adoption of science and technology is highlighted as a key area in which we can boost efficiency, building on innovation and setting out the skills and capabilities needed in our future workforce to continue this development.

“The reforms to our operational excellence and in support of our workforce must be underpinned by stronger long term financial resilience as while the remit of policing has continued expanding, investment has remained static. Since 2010, officer numbers have increased by 2.5 per cent, while recorded crime has increased by 25 per cent and police forces are cumulatively operating at around a £3bn deficit.

“We welcome a commitment that productivity benefits will be made available to reinvest in policing, as this is greatly needed to make necessary changes which can help us out pace criminality.

“We must also focus on recruitment and the importance of our police staff members as well as our officers. We have 4,000 police staff vacancies across the board and we must do all we can to ensure policing is an exciting vocation for all, especially those who have never seen themselves in policing before.

“The productivity review can help inform our collective response to this challenge and how we spend public money effectively to achieve the greatest impact on criminality, safety and feelings of safety in our communities. We look forward to working with our partners to move forward on implementing review’s recommendations.”