Safety Through Strength Annual Report 2024-25 - Page 7

2024/25 Highlights

Specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence support services

I continue to fund specialist, dedicated support for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. These services are of course also available for male victims; however, we know that these crimes disproportionately affect women and girls. You can find full details about the specialist services I commission under the ‘Support for victims’ section of this annual report.

Additional £442k to tackle repeat domestic abuse offending

My Office has secured an additional £442k to support the ongoing delivery of programmes aimed at reducing the number of persistent repeat offenders and minimising the harm caused to victims and their children.

Both the Drive and CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse) projects will now be funded until Spring 2026, with the goal of achieving long-term behaviour change and reducing incidents of domestic abuse across the county.

Since 2023, the Drive Conditional Perpetrator project has been providing interventions to reduce incidents of physical and sexual abuse, harassment, and controlling behaviours.

In 2024/25 Drive received 184 referrals and accepted 74 perpetrators on to the programme, also supporting 81 associated victims.

CARA works with offenders before their behaviour becomes prolific or escalates further, and attendance at CARA workshops can be a condition of Cautions for offences where the victim supports this outcome.

Operation Soteria

Operation Soteria is an unprecedented programme to transform how the Crown Prosecution Service and police forces across England and Wales respond to rape and other serious sexual offences (RASSO). Soteria aims to create effective suspect-focused RASSO (rape and serious sexual offences) investigations, where the police support victims and understand their needs. It also aims to make sure intelligence, analysis and digital forensics are used effectively to support cases.

Since 2021, 19 early adopter forces, including Lancashire, have been putting Soteria in place via the National Operating Model. In August 2024 HMICFRS published a report on the progress to introduce a national operating model for rape and other serious sexual offences investigations.

Promising practice was identified by Lancashire Constabulary in their use of civil orders to protect victims from harm. In Lancashire Constabulary, police personnel secure civil orders which place restrictions on suspects to keep others safe. They try to do this when they start rape and other serious sexual offences (RASSO) investigations.

For example, investigators work with victims and their independent sexual violence advisers, funded by my Office, to secure restraining orders or nonmolestation orders. The police record these orders on their systems with instructions on what personnel should do if they are breached. Breaking a civil order is a criminal offence. This means that officers can charge suspects who ignore these rules. This can help safeguard victims from dangerous RASSO perpetrators.

Lancashire Constabulary were also praised for giving well-being days to RASSO personnel and others in high-risk roles. They spend a day away from the workplace taking part in activities such as exercise, meditation, counselling, or well-being workshops. Many personnel said this break is important to help them cope with stress.

Operation Provide

I continue to commit funding to Operation Provide across Lancashire’s three policing divisions. Operation Provide ensures high quality safeguarding support to the most at-risk victims of domestic abuse. As part of this operation, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) carry out joint work with the Constabulary’s safeguarding teams to offer face-to-face support and advice to victims at the earliest opportunity.

Health setting support

I continue to fund specialist posts in Lancashire Health settings. This includes Health Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (Health ISVAs) and Health Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (Health IDVAs). These specialists post educate staff in health settings about the signs of sexual violence and domestic abuse and deal with disclosures made in health settings to refer victims on to specialist services that best suit their needs. The Health ISVAs and Health IDVAs supported 1,843 victims in 2024/25.

Lancashire Members of Parliament Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Group

My Office has established a regular Lancashire Members of Parliament VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) Group. This group has been created for Lancashire MPs and their parliamentary assistants to meet monthly online, ensuring they are briefed on current and emerging issues related to VAWG.

The group also provides an opportunity to discuss casework with a focus on VAWG and serves as a sounding board for any related issues.

By forming a collective group of MPs in Lancashire, we are in a stronger position to lobby the Government on pressing and emerging VAWG issues in the county.

White Ribbon

My staff and I have been re-accredited as White Ribbon Champions and Ambassadors in support of the White Ribbon Campaign, which aims to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG).

White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls. The aim is to prevent men’s violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes. White Ribbon UK works with men and boys to change long-established and harmful attitudes, systems, and behaviours around rigid gender norms and masculinity that perpetuate inequality and violence. The White Ribbon campaign aims to stop violence before it starts.

I will continue to support the campaign and raise awareness of VAWG and related issues here in Lancashire, utilising the campaign to highlight the work we do locally to combat VAWG in all its forms.

Crime recording

The number of reported domestic abuse crimes continues to rise, reflecting the public’s growing confidence in reporting these offences to the police. In the 12 months leading up to March 2025, 23,639 domestic abuse crimes were recorded, a 3% increase from the previous year.

Similarly, reports of rape and other sexual offences have also seen an increase, with a 16.3% rise in victims coming forward to the police. The number of reported cases rose from 4,905 to 5,705. Positive outcomes have improved for both domestic abuse and stalking offences, showcasing the dedicated efforts across the criminal justice system to secure justice for victims. However, we acknowledge that there is still more work to be done. For domestic abuse, a positive outcome was achieved in 19.9% of reported cases, representing a 1.8% increase. For stalking or harassment, the positive outcome rate has risen to 19.3%, an increase of 3.7%.