APCC Victims Leads welcome rollout of domestic abuse perpetrator intervention programme

The Home Secretary has announced investment totalling £53 million over the next four years in support of the rollout across England and Wales of the DRIVE programme which targets domestic abuse perpetrators who pose the highest risk. The intervention programme challenges them to change their behaviour and stop their offending.

Commenting on the announcement, APCC Joint Victims’ Leads, Clare Moody and Matthew Scott, said:

“We welcome the Home Office’s announcement of £53 million in funding to support the rollout across England and Wales of the DRIVE Project to address the harmful behaviours of perpetrators of domestic abuse over the next four years. This investment is a positive step toward achieving the government’s ambition to halve VAWG within a decade, and we look forward to working with the Home Office to implement local delivery of the programme.

“As Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), we have a statutory responsibility to ensure victims receive the support they need. Many PCCs have also committed to delivering perpetrator intervention programmes as part of a whole system approach to tackling VAWG.

“While we fully support this funding commitment, it is important to recognise that the DRIVE Project alone cannot address the full scale and complexity of need across the country. Additional investment is essential to enable Police and Crime Commissioners and local partners to commission vital, evidence-based perpetrator interventions at a local level, ensuring all risk levels and patterns of abuse are addressed.

“We look ahead to the forthcoming VAWG Strategy and Spending Review as critical opportunities to set out the sustainable, long-term funding and direction needed to tackle violence against women and girls effectively.”

Notes

• Clare Moody is PCC for Avon and Somerset
• Matthew Scott is PCC for Kent
• More information on the Home Secretary’s announcement is available on gov.uk