Victims’ Commissioner Louise Casey has welcomed new action by the government to tackle domestic homicide following cases where someone has been killed by their current or former partner.

The Home Office has announced that Police, local authorities, probation services, health services and voluntary partners will be required to look into the circumstances of cases to ensure lessons are learned.

Where a local area doesn’t undertake a review, the secretary of state now has the power to direct a specific person or body to establish or participate in a review.

It is hoped that this will help improve local and national approaches to tackling domestic violence.

Ms Casey said: "I strongly support this action by the government to tackle domestic violence by ensuring lessons are learnt in cases where someone has been killed by their current or former partner.

"Victims of domestic violence deserve to be given the right kind of help during a traumatic time and it is vital that there is change in the way that local areas deal with the aftermath of a domestic homicide.

"While great strides have been made to improve support for victims, work remains work to be done to ensure their needs are at the forefront of police, local authority and probation service minds.

"For too long victims have been the poor relation in the criminal justice system but with initiatives such as domestic homicide reviews, this is slowly changing."

Praise for campaigner

Ms Casey also praised Frank Mullane, co-ordinator of Action After Fatal Domestic Abuse, for his tireless campaigning on this issue.

She added: "Frank should be congratulated for years of hard work, determination and perseverance which has contributed to seeing domestic homicide reviews come in to law this week."

A policy review into the help and support given to families bereaved by murder, manslaughter and culpable road death will be published shortly by the Victims’ Commissioner.

Reforming help and support

Ms Casey has spent the first months in her new role meeting victims' families across the country, where she has been struck by the mismatch between the help and support that a member of the public may assume bereaved families would have access to and the reality of their experience.

The review, working with partners including the CPS, Victim Support and victims' organisations, is looking at:

• The quality and timeliness of information, advice and support provided by all Criminal Justice agencies to families - from the police investigation through the courts process and beyond;
• The levels of trauma families suffer, the significant impact on children including their longer term care and the financial burdens and pressures that families have to face in the wake of such awful crimes; and
• The wide range of practical, emotional and therapeutic support that bereaved families desperately need in both the short and longer term - and how well those needs are being met

Ms Casey has gathered evidence from bereaved families and combed existing research to build a better picture of bereavement. She will use this evidence to make a report to the Secretary of State for Justice in the spring of 2011.

Further information

For the full Home Office press notice on domestic homicide reviews visit:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/media-centre/press-releases/domestic-homicide-reviews