Radical changes are needed in how police respond to domestic abuse cases, analysis shows.
Academics from Cardiff University's Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute were part of a UK-wide team tasked with assessing Avon and Somerset Police's approach to domestic abuse. Project Bright Light was funded by Avon & Somerset's Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner after domestic abuse was identified as an area of priority by the force's Chief Constable Sarah Crew.
Leading on Pillar One of the report, which focused on investigation and safeguarding, the Cardiff University team concludes that the statutory definition of domestic abuse is too broad for effective operational policing.
They found demand on the force from domestic abuse cases counts for more than 20% of Avon and Somerset Police's workload and is increasing every year. The types of domestic abuse offences increasing the most are complex, such as coercive and controlling behaviour (CCB), stalking, non-fatal strangulation (NFS) and rape.
These cases, the team says, are increasingly being dealt with by frontline patrol officers rather than specialist officers, leading to "inconsistent and inappropriate responses to victims, missed opportunities for disruption and deterrence of perpetrators, and negative impacts from ill-equipped patrol officers".
Pillar One lead Professor Amanda Robinson, based at Cardiff University's School of Social Sciences said: "Avon and Somerset Police's approach to domestic abuse is not unique to the way other forces conduct these types of cases and so our findings have UK-wide policy implications.
"It's clear that the current framework for dealing with domestic abuse cases is not fit for purpose, as it seeks to deal with a wide range of victim-suspect relationships, offence types, safeguarding concerns and justice goals. This single pathway makes it hugely challenging to effectively deliver context-led police investigations."
Academics analysed more than 100,000 domestic abuse incidents and crimes officially recorded by Avon and Somerset during 2022, 2023 and 2024. They also gathered perspectives from different police units within the force, conducted a mapping exercise of specialist units operating in other forces and reviewed body worn video and force policies.
Professor Robinson added: "For some time, the predominant approach in the UK has been based on a single domestic abuse pathway. The primary tools, training and interventions available to police have been designed for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and not all domestic abuse cases, as defined by law.
"Incidents and crimes involving familial relationships and other types of cases now constitute a significant and growing proportion of domestic abuse cases. A substantial number of domestic abuse cases do not have a suitable 'home' – they are too high-risk or complex for the frontline to effectively manage but not complex or risky enough to be allocated to detectives.
"Our findings point to the need for a transformational national change programme to enable police to consistently deliver victim-centred, suspect-focused, and context-led responses to domestic abuse."
We are grateful for the police teams who contributed to our field work, allowing us to offer an unprecedented analysis of what needs to be done to solve these challenges.
Co-Director of the Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute
Director, Universities' Police Science Institute
Project Bright Light, focusing on domestic abuse, follows on from Project Bluestone - a police-academic collaboration which aimed to radically improve the response to rape and serious sexual offences. This earlier project was described as "game-changing" and resulted in major changes for how these types of crimes are dealt with across England and Wales.
Building on this work, Avon and Somerset Police's Chief Constable Sarah Crew identified domestic abuse as another area of priority, bringing in a UK team of experts to "critically interrogate" the force's approach.
Detective Superintendent Kris Windsor of Avon and Somerset Police said: "This work is about making a real difference for the people we serve. It's about ensuring that victims of domestic abuse get the support they need, that perpetrators are held accountable, and that we, as a force, are better equipped to handle the complexities of these cases with professionalism and care. We call this a victim-centred, perpetrator-focused, context-led approach which was so successfully embedded in Project Bluestone.
"Building on the research and findings of our academic partners, we're now exploring practical, actionable solutions that we can implement across Avon and Somerset; solutions that will be informed by evidence, grounded in best practice, and designed to have a tangible impact."
