Greater Manchester Police among other UK police forces categorising violence against women and girls as a national priority

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) have recently issued the first ever national threat assessment of crimes posing the most danger to women and girls.

The 230-page summary document has been published to outline the greatest threats to women and girls and includes intelligence that has been shared with all forces by the NPCC and will not be made public due to the sensitive information included.

Similar documents are used by police tackling national threats such as terrorism and serious organised crime. Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) is now prioritised next to these crimes as a national threat in the recently updated Strategic Policing Requirement and is widely regarded as an “epidemic”.

The VAWG Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment (STRA) aims to support police forces to better understand the influences and levers that contribute to VAWG. Forces will use the ‘STRA’ to target resources and decide how many officers will be needed to tackle the rising rates of violent and sexual crimes faced by women.

It will also be used to identify where they should focus specialist investigators, victim support and crime-fighting technology to tackle the problem. Reporting of VAWG is expected to continue to rise in the coming year.

The offences identified in the STRA as carrying the biggest threat to women are:

• Domestic abuse
• Rape and serious sexual offences
• Child sexual abuse and exploitation
• Tech enabled VAWG such as online stalking and harassment

The STRA will be reviewed annually using data from across UK police forces and insight from partner organisations such as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Police and Crime Commissioners.

Detective Superintendent James Faulkner, GMP’s tactical lead for Violence Against Women Superintendent and Girls, says: “The publication of the National STRA is an important moment for forces across the UK in helping to end Violence Against Women and Girls. VAWG has been added by the UK Government to the national Strategic Policing Requirement, which puts it alongside Counter Terrorism and Child Abuse in terms of importance to policing.

“In Greater Manchester Police, each district and branch has a VAWG lead, helping the force to drive activity to end violence against women and girls and working in partnership with the GMCA and others, we are committed to that aim.

"Demand generated by violence against women in girls in GMP is higher than the national average, at just over a quarter of our demand.

"By recognising this threat through the STRA, we and our partners are working hard to end the violence and build the trust and confidence in GMP, who will work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice.”

Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, National Policing Coordinator for Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “The epidemic of VAWG that we are facing meant that it was imperative we took the time to analyse the greatest threats to women and girls. All police chiefs have been given a copy of the STRA to help them make decisions in their own force areas about the best way to protect their communities. It allows chiefs to look ahead at future risks in terms of their ability to strategically plan and respond to VAWG.

“A national operating model for policing to tackle rape and serious sexual offences is being published next month as a result of the focused and rigorous work of Operation Soteria Bluestone. The findings showed that policing needs a capable, confident and reflective workforce, equipped with evidence-informed knowledge about the impact of rape and sexual offences on victims.

“The Government has recently announced the formation of a new taskforce to help enhance action against offenders of child sexual abuse and exploitation to protect children, including mandatory reporting for those who work with children and suspect abuse.

“Later in the year, in partnership with the CPS, we are publishing our joint justice plan to improve the criminal justice response to domestic abuse. The STRA clearly tells us that domestic abuse is an area of significant and increasing threat to women, so it is vital we act on that insight and ensure we are approaching the threat in a coordinated way.”