Post by National Police Chiefs' Council

“Abusers will present themselves as incredibly believable, the good guy, the steady one.” Did you catch our domestic abuse lead Louisa Rolfe on true crime podcast The Trial? Louisa spoke to the podcast about the complexities of investigating and prosecuting domestic abuse, and why focusing on the behaviour of the perpetrator is key to achieving justice. The interview came off the back of the publication of this year’s Domestic Homicide Report which tracks the scale and nature of domestic abuse-related deaths in quick-time. Five years of data has helped identify clear risk factors that can give agencies a better chance to intervene and prevent future deaths. Coercive and controlling behaviour was found to be one of the biggest risk factors, and the report calls for forces to maximise legislation to bring more offenders to justice earlier. Commenting on the need to focus on a perpetrator’s history and behaviour, Louisa said: “Abusers will present themselves to the outside world and to any criminal justice agency or partner agency, whether it’s health or social care, or others who deal with them, as incredibly believable, as the good guy in the relationship, as the steady one. “Policing, alongside all other agencies, must recognise this and do everything possible to stop abusive behaviour." Listen to a snippet of the podcast ⤵️

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