Victims of domestic abuse are being failed by a criminal justice system that is not up to the job, a damning report by the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales has said.
Dame Nicole Jacobs warned the government's "ambitious" target of halving violence against women and girls within a decade will "fall flat" unless it addresses the criminal justice response to the issue.
Around 2.3 million people suffered domestic abuse in the 12 months to last March, according to the Crime Survey of England and Wales, but the report said less than a fifth of victims report to police, because of a system "ill-equipped to respond to the enormity of the challenge".
Of the 851,000 offences recorded by police in England and Wales during that period, less than 73,000 were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and around 49,000 resulted in charges, leading to less than 39,000 offenders being found guilty.
In other words, the report said: "Just 5% of police-recorded domestic abuse offences reach conviction; and less than a fifth of victims have the confidence to report to the police in the first place. Faith in the system is at an all-time low."
Dame Nicole told Sky News victims were being let down "time and time again".
"We're missing so many opportunities to use the tools that we do have - protection orders, the advocacy, support and advice - that we could signpost victims to at the earliest time," she said.
She added: "Some of the statistics that stand out in my mind, I mean, they're shocking throughout the whole report, I have to say."
The report says charge and conviction volumes remain "unacceptably low", and victims' lack of confidence "is compounded by a series of systemic failures across the criminal justice response to domestic abuse".
"The system is unable to cope with demands placed upon it, and specialist domestic abuse services - who play a vital role in bolstering this system - remain critically underfunded," it said.
Court delays, early release from prison, poor enforcement of protective orders, and falling convictions are "symptomatic" of these failings, the report said, and "well-documented examples of police-perpetrated domestic abuse further undermine confidence in the justice system".
The commissioner noted an "alarming" new figure that just 4% of alleged domestic abuse perpetrators in the police were dismissed over the 12 months to the end of March 2024.
Out of almost 1,300 allegations of police-perpetrated domestic abuse (PPDA), concerning 899 individuals within the police workforce, the "vast majority resulted in 'no case to answer', 'suspension' and 'learning outcomes'", she said.
Among its recommendations, the report called for an overhaul of data, urging investment in new technology.
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Ministers, it said, must ensure specialist domestic abuse support is resourced, calling for an annual investment of just under £188m to set up "by and for" organisations that "support black and minoritised, deaf and disabled, and LGBT+ survivors".
Accountability could be strengthened, it said, via Local Criminal Justice Boards and a new national scrutiny panel, while the status of working in the domestic abuse field, especially within the police, needed to be strengthened also.
Training for criminal justice system staff to help them recognise possible victims and greater access to self-defence for victims who use force against their abuser were other demands while the Ministry of Justice was urged to provide a defence where victims of domestic abuse are coerced into offending.
Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, chief executive at the College of Policing, welcomed the report, and added: "I am pleased that the work we are doing at the College of Policing to better professionalise public protection, alongside the strengthening of policing vetting processes, align so well with the report's asks, but I recognise that there is much more that we must - and will - do."
Anthony Rogers, HM chief inspector of the CPS Inspectorate, said the system struggled to cope with demands placed on it.
"In previous inspections we have commented that specialist domestic abuse services - who play a vital role - are critically underfunded," he said.
"The domestic abuse commissioner's report sets out clear recommendations that if addressed will help turn what is a fragmented service into one that will help victims as they deal with the one of the most traumatic experiences that they will face."
The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, said: "The findings are stark and serve as further proof of what we recognise - that fundamental and systemic change is needed.
"Over the last 6 months we have taken a number of bold first steps to address these issues, launching new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in select areas and announcing plans to embed domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms under Raneem's Law.
"But we know this is just the start, and we must go further. We will not stop until we have a system that protects victims, supports their journey to justice, and holds perpetrators to account - part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade and wider Plan for Change."
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