Annual Review of the Effectiveness of Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021- Year Three Review

The Year Three Review findings

Three years after the implementation of the legislation, the Inspection Team expected to see it embedded as business as usual across the criminal justice system; however, what they found was that there was still much to be done to use the Act more effectively to protect victims, including children, and bring offenders to justice.

Child-centred approach needed

For this year’s Review, Inspectors returned to investigation and prosecution case file reviews. They noted some progress in identifying child aggravators compared to the Year One Review findings, however, their use remained inconsistent and in numerous instances where they were appropriate, they were not implemented.  The child’s voice wasn’t evident and concerns about how child aggravators were used persisted.  There was also a noticeable drop‑off in their use as cases progressed from investigation through to prosecution and Court.

In 2024-25, around 20% of all recorded crimes in Northern Ireland had a domestic abuse motivation, against this figure, the findings on the use of child aggravators was at odds with high number of domestic abuse incidents attended by police where children were present. This concern is reinforced by the 16,025 referrals made in the same period to education providers about children under Operation Encompass, a programme that supports children who witness domestic violence or abuse at home.

Other areas that reflected the absence of the child’s voice was the reluctance among some Police Officers to engage directly with children during domestic abuse investigations and a lack of confidence in how to obtain evidence from or about them.

The failure to adequately hear and respond to the voices of children and what they had experienced in their home was a fundamental weakness in the implementation of the Act that requires urgent action.

Quality and consistency of training

Inspectors expressed significant concerns about the quality and consistency of training provided to staff across the criminal justice system.

Training had declined over time and was not meeting the requirements of the Act.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI’s) Police Foundation Training had inadequate amount of dedicated domestic abuse training and there were gaps in the supervisory training for newly promoted Sergeants.  Similar issues were found with training provided to Prosecutors and Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals staff.

Inspectors stressed that investment in training needs to be evident in applied skills and improved outcomes for victims and their children.

Domestic abuse data

Changes to Home Office counting rules and reliance on victim-based crime recording meant not all domestic abuse offences were being captured in official statistics and data collected across the criminal justice system was inconsistent and potentially misleading. 

This made it difficult to assess the true extent of domestic abuse offending and the effectiveness of criminal justice responses.

Positive progress

The Inspection Team found positive progress had been made in raising awareness of domestic abuse as a criminal offence.  Police response times and risk recording were better than in the Year One Review and outcomes for victims improved where the domestic abuse offence was correctly identified and prosecuted.

Conclusion

The Third annual Review of the domestic abuse legislation has shown that, while there has been some positive progress and the commitment of criminal justice leaders is evident significant work is still required to ensure the full impact of the Act is realised.

The Review makes four recommendations aimed at embedding the Act fully as intended across the criminal justice system to effectively protect victims, their children and bring perpetrators to justice.