Today's Home Office stories include domestic abuse and further coverage of knife crime.
Domestic abuse
The Times reports that a fifth of women murdered by their current or former partners had been in touch with the police as arrest rates for domestic violence plummet, according to figures obtained by the newspaper.
The paper reports that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has overseen investigations into the murders of 41 women by their partners in England and Wales between March 2016 and January this year. Coercive behaviour, stalking and harassment were allegedly dismissed by officers as a precursor to violence in several cases.
The article notes that senior officers, women’s charities and the IOPC have warned that failure to assess cases as high risk, problems with bail management and poor record keeping were leaving violent abusers free to reoffend.
For information on what the Government is doing to tackle violence against women and girls, please read our fact sheet on the VAWG Strategy Refresh.
Knife crime
The Sun, Metro and Express report that police have started a week-long crackdown on knife crime – Operation Sceptre. This will include the use of stop-and-search, weapon sweeps and surrender bins to combat the surge in violence. The articles carried comments made by the Crime Minister saying that this will send a big message that knife crime is not tolerated. The Metro also notes that the Crime Minister said “people going about their business and seeing a big team of police there to reassure and keep the local community sage, is in itself really valuable”.
The Guardian and Telegraph report that nearly 700 school children were victims of knife crime in the West Midlands last year. According to police figures, that were released under FOI, more than 800 youngsters, including 45 children aged 10 to 11, were caught with a knife in the region last year.
A Home Office spokesperson said:
The Home Secretary has made clear that the rise in serious violence across the country is deeply concerning.
The Home Office is working hard with police and other partners to tackle violent crime on many fronts and across the whole country.
The Home Secretary met with senior police officers and partners to discuss what more can be done.