Agencies join together to tackle domestic abuse

Helping victims of domestic abuse was top on the agenda at a special meeting hosted by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner yesterday evening.

Some 25 people from agencies across the county attended the event which aimed to understand the provision for victims in the county, challenges faced by support agencies and identify best practice.

Representatives from children’s charities, offender management, counselling, domestic abuse charities, refugee outreach, health and legal support took part in the ‘Domestic Abuse Partner Forum’ – the first of its kind organised by the OPCCN’s Commissioning Team.

Liam Bannon, Police, Research and Equalities Officer, for the OPCCN, said: “It was really positive to see so many people eager to discuss how we can work more effectively together to tackle the issue of domestic abuse in the county.

“While a number of actions to help streamline the support given to victims were identified, it was clear everyone had one main goal in mind - to help victims get the best possible service they can from all providers.”

The OPCCN supports victims while working to reduce crime and disorder by commissioning organisations to provide services that achieve these objectives.

The team need to have a well-developed understanding of demand for services in Norfolk and are organising a number of 'Partner Forum' events to gauge the thoughts of providers across the county on a number of issues.

The DA Forum – which now plan to meet every three months – was the first such meeting to take place.

Any partners interested in attending the next DA Forum should email Liam Bannon: Liam.BANNON@norfolk.pnn.police.uk