Second annual review of Domestic Abuse legislation published

CJI Chief Inspector Jacqui Durkin has published the Year Two Progress Review of the effectiveness of Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021(the Act).

The Year Two Progress Review assessed the work undertaken across the criminal justice system to implement 11 recommendations made by Inspectors following the publication of the first Review of the Act in April 2024.

Inspectors found that an encouraging start had been made by the Department of Justice (DoJ), the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS) and the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) but more work needed to be done.

“Fieldwork for this Review revealed good or reasonable progress had been made to implement eight Review recommendations, but we also found that of the remaining three recommendations, insufficient progress had been made against two and no meaningful progress made on one recommendation,” said Ms Durkin.

“We welcome the work that has been ongoing to deliver cultural change in how domestic abuse is understood and dealt with by Police Officers, Prosecutors, Court Service and other staff working in these and other criminal justice bodies including the Department of Justice.  It is also encouraging that Police Officers and Prosecutors have begun to develop a broader understanding of what domestic abuse is, and the impact it has on victims and witnesses, particularly children, and how it is investigated and prosecuted.

“However, more work is required on the delivery of training to Police Officers and staff working in frontline and contact management roles to improve the quality of their threat and risk assessment, the information being recorded, the response provided to children in domestic abuse cases and the supervisory reviews of records that are undertaken.

“The NICTS also has further work to do to work with its partners across the Courts to both review and take action to ensure Court records are accurately, completely and consistently recording Court outcomes where enhanced sentences are and are not applied in relevant domestic abuse cases.

“In addition, we need to have accurate quality information and data to show the impact of the Act and the use of aggravating factors which can be used not only to inform the criminal justice system, victims and stakeholders but also foster community confidence in the difference the Act is making.

More needs to be done to close the gap between the aggravating factors identified by the PSNI and those that lead to prosecution and, on conviction, are considered by Judges and are apparent in sentence and outcomes.  Greater focus on delivering effective training on children in abuse cases within the PSNI is also needed,” she said.

CJI will soon be commencing preparatory work to inform its Year Three Review of the Act in line with the request made by the Minister of Justice that we undertake an annual independent review of the Act’s implementation as required under Section 33 of the legislation.  At this stage it is anticipated this will involve a return to full case file reviews as part of the evidence gathering and assessment process.

“We encourage all the organisations involved in implementing the Act to maintain the energy and commitment required to do so and maintain the momentum needed to deliver quality services for the benefit of us all,” said Ms Durkin.