Driving Change: GMP's Domestic Abuse Response Cars take to roads across the Wigan Borough

Domestic abuse (DA) affects people from all walks of life, in many ways, and can have devastating consequences if it goes unspoken about or unseen. DA can include but is not limited to physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, financial, or honour-based abuse, including forced marriage. Just one incident counts as abuse.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) currently has multiple teams dedicated to tackling DA as a force priority, including DA appointment teams to meet with victims, specialist DA prisoner processing teams and DA champions across officers and staff – by which they are the subject knowledge experts and can champion and share this knowledge with others across the force.

In Wigan, the Place and Community Safety Partnership, a multi-agency group made up with key partners such as Wigan Council, have created a new approach to tackle DA, spearheaded by Chief Inspector Clare Anderson and Wigan Council’s Domestic Abuse Operational Manager, Lindsey Saunders. The partnership has been working together to secure funding for a specific DA car to be out on patrol to attend domestic incidents as they are reported.

The DA cars include a GMP Police Officer accompanied by Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), funded by Wigan Council in partnership with the NHS. The cars have three simple aims; to respond to domestic incidents effectively and quickly, provide a well-rounded approach to safeguarding victim, and tackle perpetrators of domestic abuse immediately.

From July 2023, the DA cars are now working at full speed, enabling officers and IDVAs to promptly respond to domestic incidents, visit victims, and offer enhanced support in a comprehensive manner. Working together as a team, the IDVA and officer ensure the safety of victims and their loved ones and ensure perpetrators are dealt with proportionately and swiftly.

This collaboration between partners and GMP hopes to empower victims to choose their next steps, including pursuing legal action or opting for evidence-based prosecution. This approach instils confidence that victims will receive unwavering support throughout the legal process from the police and support services, further reinforcing the role of the police as protectors and advocates.

Chief Inspector Clare Anderson of GMP’s Wigan District said: “In Wigan we are always looking at new and innovative ways we can work together across the district, the force and with our partners, and a lot of our initiatives would not have been made possible without them. In the past, we have introduced similar strategies, exemplified by the mental health car pairing officers with mental health specialists. Its successful trial here led to its adoption across the force, and I sincerely hope that this DA car will receive lots of positive outcomes and interventions resulting in a forcewide adoption in the future. The DA cars are now in action and having that balance of both a police officer and an IDVA responding to DA incidents is working extremely well, resulting in some already fantastic outcomes and interventions in our communities. This ongoing partnership is dedicated to enhancing lives in Wigan, but also developing our officers, getting them to engage further with other agencies and partners to foster knowledge sharing, skill growth, and build invaluable working relationships. I genuinely hope that the impact of DA cars will persist in helping vulnerable individuals across the whole borough of Wigan.”

Councillor Dane Anderton, portfolio holder for Police, Crime and Civil contingencies said: “We are proud to work in partnership with Greater Manchester Police, providing domestic abuse support cars to residents who require this much needed support. This initiative reinforces the Place and Community Safety Partnerships wider, ongoing multi-agency work to tackle domestic abuse across the borough, and its already impressive results are testament to the significant collaborative work within the partnership.”

Julie Middlehurst, Wigan Council’s Assistant Director for Regulatory Services and co-chair of the Domestic Abuse Board said: “We know domestic abuse can take many forms regardless of gender or sexuality. It is our priority to ensure all residents can access the right help and support and understand the options available. By joining our Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and police officers together, it will provide enhanced safeguarding to victims and their families at the earliest opportunity. Offering emotional support and reassurance in a comprehensive and cooperative manner. If you are affected by domestic abuse, you can get free and confidential help by visiting www.wigan.gov.uk/domesticabuse.”

Report & Support

If you or someone you know are a victim or survivor of domestic abuse, we encourage you not to suffer in silence and report it to the police by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency.

You can also report information and crimes on our website (www.gmp.police.uk) using the 'report' tool.

Alternatively, you can report information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

There are also lots of organisations and support agencies available across Greater Manchester that can help and provide support for you:

Greater Manchester domestic abuse helpline 
Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm, except bank holidays. For anyone experiencing domestic abuse. Includes a language service and advice for the LGBT community.

End the Fear 
Includes information on local help all over Greater Manchester.

Wigan and Leigh Dias drop-in centre
works with women and men who are experiencing or recovering from domestic violence and abusive relationships and helps them to regain control of the situation.

More support organisations can be found here.