West Yorkshire Mayor Reports Halved Reoffending Rates for Some Domestic Abusers

An elected mayor has stated that the reoffending rates among certain domestic abusers have been reduced by half, suggesting this initiative should be implemented by government ministers. Tracy Brabin expressed her hope that the efforts of a collaborative unit from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Police, which supports female victims of violence, along with advancements such as the deployment of forensic sprays like SmartWater for some domestic abuse victims, could be adopted nationwide. Brabin’s call for national adoption came after the government revealed intentions to grant stalking victims automatic access to their abusers’ identities. The mayor noted that West Yorkshire had already achieved “incredible outcomes,” including a record number of stalking protection orders issued last year. Nevertheless, Brabin clarified that these positive results were achieved despite the “difficult and complex” nature of the processes involved. During an appearance on BBC Radio Leeds’ Message the Mayor, Brabin reported that 6,479 total stalking crimes were reported in West Yorkshire this year. The Stalking Advocacy Service, which was commissioned by the mayor, had processed over 2,979 referrals and provided direct, one-to-one support to 681 high-risk victims by the close of September. The mayor also stated she was “very proud of West Yorkshire Police that they’ve issued more stalking protection orders in the last year or so than they’ve ever done.” Brabin indicated that the establishment of a Women’s Safety Unit in West Yorkshire earlier this year, which is thought to be the first of its kind, has resulted in “really incredible outcomes.” “One of them has been the issuing of SmartWater to victims of domestic violence who have a protection order from their perpetrator. It’s a DNA that stays on your skin or clothes for three months and it stops the ‘he said, she said’, as it’s evidence that the perpetrator broke the protection order. We’ve had an almost 50% reduction in re-offending from perpetrators because they know the victim has the SmartWater.” Additional data provided to the BBC by West Yorkshire Police indicated that 57% of domestic abuse victims who received SmartWater deterrents reported a reduction in the number of domestic incidents they encountered. Concurrently, police statistics suggested that 74% of domestic abuse victims felt either a lot or a little safer due to the availability of this extra protection. Nevertheless, Brabin acknowledged that, despite local innovations, securing a stalking protection order remained a “difficult and too complex” legal process. These orders serve to prohibit alleged stalkers from contacting their victims or being within a specified distance of them. Brabin stated, “It takes 103 days to get a stalking protection order. It’s got to be quicker than that.” However, the mayor emphasized that recent proposals led by Minister for Safeguarding Jess Phillips and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper represented a “step in the right direction.” When introducing the new “right to know” proposals on Tuesday, Phillips expressed her hope that they would provide victims with “peace of mind” by informing them of their abuser’s identity. Brabin commented: “If we can end stalking, or support victims to get justice, then maybe we can save someone’s life.” The mayor further expressed her wish that the government would consider the work undertaken in West Yorkshire as “really positive” and that ministers would be inclined to implement this strategy nationwide. She added, “It’s these innovations I’m hoping to invite ministers to come and see, so it won’t just be the women of West Yorkshire that have these interventions, but across the country.” Official statistics indicate that approximately one in five women aged 16 and above in England and Wales has experienced stalking at least once.