By Charlotte Webster-
A New Project CARA website is to support police response to domestic abuse
A new website has been developed to help police forces deliver Project CARA, the risk-assessed response to domestic abuse.
The evidence-based intervention programme aims to prevent further abusive behaviour by raising awareness of the impact on victims through a series of workshops.
Hampton Trust says its new website dedicated to Project CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse) aims to “facilitate interest from police forces across the country” in the area of domestic abuse.
Domestic abuse is a widespread problem in the Uk, as is in many parts of the world, as thousands of women in the world are subjecting to violence by abusive men, many of whom become stalkers and sometimes killers.
Abuse suffered by women can both physical and psychological, many of their oppressors often breaching their bail conditions to continue their abuse.
Domestic domestic abuseis defined by Woman’s aid as an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member or carer.
The CSEW estimated 2.4 million adults aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022 (1.7 millionEvery year, more than 10 million men and women in the U.S. are subjected to Domestic Violence.
Its impact is even more in the U.S , where according to U.S statistics, more than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the U.S. will experience rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
The domestic abuse charity already delivers CARA across eight police regions, and has also partnered with Restorative Solutions to deliver the intervention in North Yorkshire using the CARA replication model.
Reoffending
Re-offending is also not uncommon among domestic abusers, who worsen the light of their victims , leaving them to deal with all the scars of their misconduct.
An Impact Evaluation and Economic Benefits study undertaken by the University of Birmingham in 2021 found that reoffending was reduced by 81 per cent within the first six months and by 56 per cent within the first 12 months after participating in the CARA programme. For every £1 invested in CARA, police forces saved £2.75.
Further evidence from Hampshire Constabulary in 2021, which first trialled the initiative in 2013, showed a 76 per cent reduction of future offending in general and an 81 per cent reduction of future domestic abuse offending.
“With the launch of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Intervention Fund by the Home Office earlier this year, police and crime commissioners (PCCs) can bid for additional funding to increase the availability of domestic abuse perpetrator intervention schemes in their area,” said Hampton Trust. “Under the new two-tier policing framework coming into effect in April this year, CARA can be used as an early intervention for domestic abuse offenders receiving a diversionary caution.”
The programme is delivered in close partnership with the police through workshops for domestic abuse perpetrators receiving a conditional caution.
The aim of the workshops is to increase self-awareness and the motivation to address behaviours and make changes. It supports offenders in understanding what domestic abuse is, the harm their actions have caused, the impact this has had on their partners, children and relationships, and how to make different choices going forward and prevent these harmful behaviours from becoming more entrenched. The workshops offer support relevant to the needs of the participants and signpost to further specialist help.
As an improved criminal justice response for victims, Hampton Trust says CARA ensures the perpetrator intervention is safe for the victim by providing contact and clear guidance.
Chantal Hughes, chief executive officer of the Hampton Trust, said: “With the new framework coming into effect soon, we have seen increased interest from police forces in CARA.
“Our dedicated website now provides all the information in one place – what it is, how it works, and how it can be delivered using our new CARA replication model. The team are ready to support police forces and PCCs in drafting funding proposals using our experience and expertise, and deliver this intervention in their area.”