Essex Police among best performing forces for Clare's Law disclosures

Essex Police is now among the best performing forces in the country for disclosing information under Clare’s Law.

The force carried out a review of how the process was working almost two years ago.

As a result, we introduced a new team – the Domestic Abuse Review Team (DART) – consisting of more than 20 officers focussing on disclosures.

Between August 2023 and June 2024 we have made 830 disclosures – 66 percent of the 1,254 applications processed.

We have risen from 6.8 percent in the quoted figures to 66 percent which shows a significant improvement and puts us among the best performing forces in the country.

Detective Superintendent Matt Cornish, the force’s lead for domestic abuse, said:

“In January 2023 we undertook a major review of our response to domestic abuse in Essex with an aim of implementing the College of Policing-approved Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (DARA), and continue to improve our response to DA victims and the management of DA perpetrators

“As a part of this project, we updated our approach to Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) disclosures; ensuring adherence to the new Home Office guidance, seeking to improve both the number of disclosures made and enhancing the content of those disclosures.

“This ensures we are now reaching even more potential victims of DA and giving them the information, they needed to make an informed decision.

“Our work around the DVDS aspect is backed by research led by Essex University’s Dr Kat Hadjimatheou, who also sits on the national DVDS working group.

“We recognised we needed to do more to support victims and potential victims of domestic abuse through the DVDS.

“We are making more disclosures and sharing more information than ever before.”

Det Supt Cornish added that the force is also innovating to keep women safe:

“We have changed the way we assesses the most high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators.

“Most forces use a model called ‘Recency, Frequency, Gravity’.

“Essentially, this rates the risk someone poses based on how recently they’ve offended, how often, and the seriousness of that offending.

“But we’re taking a different approach, and using one which is backed up by academic research.

“We now look at the behaviours most prevalent in the most serious cases of domestic abuse – things like coercion and control, stalking, and a history of violence.

“Each of those behaviours is weighted and we rate the risk someone poses based on that calculation.

“It means we’re better placed to identify the most high-risk cases and be able to step in.

“And we’re using technology to get better evidence to improve the chance of a successful conviction.

“Last year we created our Rapid Video Response Team, who sit in our control room.

“When take evidence when a domestic abuse case is called in, on video, to ensure we’re capturing the best evidence as quickly as possible.

“Within its first six months, the team had taken more than 1,000 reports and we’ve had positive feedback from victims about this new way of working.”

Det Supt Cornish continued:

“It’s not enough just to respond to incidents and investigate offences, we want to prevent them from happening.

“Our award-winning #Reflect campaign puts the focus on the perpetrator. It says to them ‘recognise your behaviour and seek help’.

“And we’ve worked with the Change Project who then help those people to change that behaviour.

“There are not many, if any, other domestic abuse campaigns which take this approach and we’ve seen that it works.

“Since it started, we’ve seen 700 people make contact with the Change Project. That’s incredible and it really could save lives.”

Det Supt Cornish says this work is making a difference:

“In the last year we’ve seen around 1,800 fewer reports of domestic abuse and around 1,000 fewer repeat victims.

“One victim of domestic abuse is one too many but I believe our work to protect people and stopping offences in the first place is having a real, tangible impact.

“We won’t stop this work. It’s really important that people feel safe.

“My ask to the public is – if you’re a victim of domestic abuse, come forward and tell us. You’ll be listened to and you will be supported.”

If you enter a relationship with someone new and start to feel a little unsure about the situation, there are steps you can take.

Clare's Law gives any member of the public the right to ask the police if their partner may pose a risk to them.

For more information about Clare's Law and how to make an application please visit our domestic violence disclosure scheme page.

At Essex Police we put victims at the heart of everything we do. The Victims’ Code explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime, and helps us define what we must do for all victims from their initial contact with our force until the conclusion of their case.

Find out more about the code and to understand the rights of a victim of crime, on our Support for victims and witnesses of crime page.

To report a crime, please use our digital 101 service. In an emergency call 999. 

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