Offenders guilty of crimes like stalking, domestic abuse and exploitation will be offered intervention to address their behaviour under a new Cheshire Police programme.
The scheme will see police officers, victim advocates and healthcare professionals working with victims and offenders of violent crimes.
It aims to enable police to understand individual offenders’ motivatiOffenders guilty of crimes like stalking, domestic abuse and exploitation will be offered intervention to address their behaviour under a new Cheshire Police programme.
The scheme will see police officers, victim advocates and healthcare professionals working with victims and offenders of violent crimes.ons and circumstances, to better manage risks they pose and try to stop the behaviour for good.
It uses learning obtained from the county’s Integrated Anti-Stalking Unit (IASU) and is being funded by Cheshire’s police and crime commissioner.
Over the last two years, the IASU – a partnership between Cheshire Police and North West Borough Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – has used interventions to manage risks posed by perpetrators, whilst protecting victims of stalking.
To date, it has received more than 500 referrals from across Warrington and Halton, providing victims with one-to-one support and working with perpetrators to reduce the risk of further harm to the victim and the wider community.
The £200,000 funding from crime commissioner David Keane will allow the model to be applied to other high risk violent crimes across Cheshire.
He said: “Whilst it’s vitally important we give victims the right support to help them recover from their ordeal, it’s also imperative we try to address what motivates the offender, to reduce re-offending and stop more innocent people becoming victim to their crimes.
“Research shows 94% of domestic homicides were preceded by stalking and this programme is about stopping the behaviour before it becomes more serious and potentially fatal.
“Whilst the criminal justice system can offer substantial prison sentences for perpetrators of violent crime, it does very little to address the underlying motivations which fuel the behaviour.
“This revolutionary model brings police officers and partners from the health service together to find the most suitable resolution for both the perpetrator and the victim.
“We know it works with just three of the 56 stalking perpetrators the Integrated Anti-Stalking Unit worked with over the last two years going on to re-offend.
“The funding I have allocated will allow the successful model to be applied to other serious crimes in Cheshire.”
Detective superintendent Peter Shaw, from Cheshire Police’s public protection directorate, added: “Cheshire Constabulary is leading the way nationally in dealing with stalking offences and the Integrated Anti-Stalking Unit is the envy of many other forces.
“Officers and staff from the Integrated Anti-Stalking Unit have done a great deal of work to tackle offending behaviour and reduce the risk to victims.
“This investment is a major step forward in enabling the police to make sure that we are able to safeguard people at risk of serious harm.”
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