Hampshire PCC's fears over domestic abuse services funding

Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones has warned that delays in confirming government funding for perpetrator intervention schemes threaten critical support for managing offenders and protecting victims across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Ms Jones, who last year allocated £11m for victim and perpetrator services from Ministry of Justice and Home Office grants, said the current lack of clarity was endangering the Government’s goal of halving violence against women and girls.

Hampshire police and crime commissioner Donna Jones. (Image: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner)

She said: "This uncertainty is unacceptable. These programmes deliver specialist interventions for domestic abuse and stalking perpetrators, designed to reduce reoffending and ultimately protect victims.

"Without urgent funding confirmation from the Home Office, services will close, referrals will stop and dangerous individuals will go unmanaged and unchecked.

"That puts victims at greater risk and seriously undermines the government’s own pledge to halve violence against women and girls."

While funding for victim services was confirmed just three weeks before Christmas, perpetrator programme funding for the next financial year remains unresolved.

The commissioner has written to the Home Secretary, calling for immediate clarity to prevent gaps in service.

Previous Home Office funding supported the Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership (MASP), a collaboration involving Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, South Central Probation Service, the NHS Healthcare Trust, and Stop Domestic Abuse.

The partnership delivers psychologist-led interventions for stalking offenders and has won national and international recognition.

Dr Kirsty Butcher, clinical lead for the partnership, said: "Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare’s input into the Multi-Agency Stalking Partnership is internationally recognised as a model of excellence in stalking intervention.

"Future investment will support a continuation and expansion of clinical, evidence-based interventions across the criminal justice system; multi-agency collaboration; and strategic leadership – delivering substantial savings to the criminal justice system and, most importantly, safeguarding victims and the public.

"It is right to conclude that, without a commitment to continued funding, we will see the loss of a key contributor to the multi-agency approach - and the wealth of health and risk assessment expertise the team brings, which benefits the police, probation services, victims and offenders.

"We are also likely to see a higher long-term cost to the criminal justice system, as the root causes of reoffending are not addressed."