Written question asked by Lord McCabe (Labour) on Tuesday, 25 April 2017, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 27 April 2017. It was answered by Brandon Lewis (Conservative) on Thursday, 27 April 2017 on behalf of the Home Office.

Domestic Abuse

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what comparative assessment she has made of the value of telephone and face-to-face interviews on the ability of the police to assess allegations of domestic abuse.

Answer: The College of Policing has issued guidance to police forces making clear that it is the responsibility of the attending officer or first responder to carry out a primary risk assessment at the first opportunity, usually at the scene. In its report on police effectiveness, published in March 2017, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found that in a very small number of forces there were too many instances of interviews conducted by telephone and recommended that this be stopped.

Secondary information