On patrol with police battling UK's domestic abuse epidemic
The government says it's a first step towards their pledge to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
Under a new Home Office pilot scheme, hundreds of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders have already been granted, which would see abusers jailed for up to five years if they breach the conditions.
Greater Manchester Police has been carrying out one of the pilot schemes, and this programme has been given exclusive access to see how it's been getting on.
Warning: there are distressing details in this report.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by domestic abuse, you can find a range of places to seek help at www.channel4.com/support
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Former Kent prostitute says she was a victim of rape and abuse
A former prostitute has opened up on her experience selling sex, detailing how women were often assaulted and raped, and that she was forced to make a "different personality" for herself in order to who is aged in her 20s, said sex workers can be "demonised" by authorities, as she detailed one harrowing account of her being in hospital after being attacked by a was contacted by the charity Streetlight UK, which has expanded its operation across south-east England, and has called for additional funding and resources to support more women in the Home Office has been approached for comment. The exchange of sexual services for money is legal in England, Scotland and it is illegal to partake in solicitation on the streets, pay for sex if someone is forced into it, own or manage a brothel, control a prostitute and the money they earn, and advertise sexual services, like putting cards in a phone activities such as kerb crawling are also illegal. Jane, not her real name, was a prostitute in Kent until a couple of months started selling sex at a property when she was 18 for a short period of time. By the time she was 24 she couldn't work due to her health and decided to go back into says selling sex was an option to earn money."You don't work many hours and you get quite a lot [of money] but it's not worth the risk that is involved," she told BBC South East."People stole from me, assault was not uncommon, rape, attempted rape, all those kind of things - and that's considered lucky."I made a completely different personality for myself in order to cope, so I would just switch off and try to essentially become a different person."When you first get into it there are people that purposely prey on the ones that are new, because you haven't established the red flags that you need to."You just somehow become more savvy in knowing who to avoid and who not to." She was supported by the charity Streetlight UK, a support service for women involved in prostitution, sexual exploitation and says prostitutes are demonized, and when she was treated in hospital after an assault, the staff were not very said: "There was like no support at all, because I didn't want to report it, because of how it occurred basically."I think there needs to be more empathy." Streetlight UK says since it started operating in Medway in March 2023, it has directly supported 244 service recently began operated in East Kent, and 59 women have received support since April last the number supported in Surrey and Sussex has steadily grown from 366 in 2020/21 to 459 in 2024/ executive Helena Croft said there was demand for its services in the community."Homeless charities, mental health, sexual health, they're telling us there's nothing like us and they really need help," she said."They need that support to understand the trauma and impact of prostitution on women." Potential exploitation of victims Ms Croft said the internet has changed prostitution "significantly" because it's become accessible to anyone at any added the government was doing "some good work", but she would like to see more services like hers rolled out across London and the South East.A lot of the organisation's crisis work involves supporting women in financial hardship who've turned to prostitution, but they also work with police and support suspected victims of sex trafficking. In 2024, 1246 people were identified by the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as being potential victims of sexual exploitation. The NRM, run by the Home Office, is a process in the UK for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. Dr Erin Sanders-McDonagh, a senior criminologist at the University of Kent, says many women choose to go into prostitution, and not all of them want to leave the industry. She said: "Single mothers with young children, these are the kinds of people who are suffering the most under austerity, particularly in places like north Kent where there's not a lot of access to high paying jobs."Sex becomes a very reasonable and logical option for women who need to make extra money." 'Exploitation and rape' The National Police Chiefs guidance encourages forces to focus on the vulnerability of street sex workers and prioritise pursuing those who commit exploitation or violence against sex Vajzovic, the NPCC lead for the policing of sex work, says guidance recognises the vulnerability of many sex workers, "particularly those who're involved in selling sex on the street".He added: "Over recent years we have seen really strong recognition to understand the vulnerability of sex workers and focus our enforcement activities on those carrying out that exploitation"."In this context it is about criminal exploitation and rape and to prosecute those types of offences." If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story you can visit the BBC Action Line for support.
Daily Record
9 hours ago
- Daily Record
'Serious disorder' in Salford sees four more arrests and girl, 16, charged
Police were alerted to reports of a gathering of around 50 to 60 people using cars and wheelie bins to block off the road. Four more people have been arrested after riot cops responded to 'serious disorder' in Salford. Police were alerted to reports of a gathering of around 50 to 60 people on Lower Broughton Road who were using cars and wheelie bins to block off the road on Wednesday afternoon. A police car's window was broken and a number of vehicles were set on fire during the disorder. As reported by the Manchester Evening News, shocking footage shows vehicles screeching down the road. Police have since carried out an investigation and have detained four men in relation to three incidents in the area. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. A 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of theft and public order, before a man in his 30s was detained on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and possession of Class A drugs. Two men aged 18 and 19 have been arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article. The 16-year-old girl – who cannot be named for legal reasons – has been charged with assaulting an emergency worker and has been bailed to appear at court at a future date after being arrested earlier on Wednesday. Superintendent Marcus Noden, of Greater Manchester Police, said: 'I wanted to provide a further update into the disorder in Salford this afternoon, I would like to stress that there have been no further incidents since our last update. 'We have robust plans in place should any further incidents arise in the area, and we will take action like we did earlier on in the day, should we need to. 'A dispersal order remains in place in Salford until 2pm tomorrow afternoon (Thursday June 12 2025) and anyone who does not abide by the law, will be dealt with.'
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Telegraph
Contractor in Heathrow migrant escape ‘lost another deportee'
The contractor at the centre of a migrant escape at Heathrow airport 'lost' another deportee in Istanbul, a former officer has claimed. Gary Costin, a former deportee custody officer with the contractor Mitie, said the escape attempt at Heathrow was not an isolated case, and cited four other examples of deportees attempting to abscond in the past three years. On Sunday, an illegal migrant about to be deported back to India was filmed being chased across the airport tarmac pursued by security officers before being caught. He was being escorted by contractors Mitie Care and Custody on behalf of the Home Office. Mr Costin, who was sacked by Mitie after sharing a Reform MP's post, claimed: 'Subcontractors who were working for Mitie taking people back to Somalia lost this individual in Turkey. 'I don't believe he has ever been found. He managed to escape through a hole in the roof, in the toilet or smoking area at Istanbul airport.' Speaking on Talk Radio, he also alleged another deportee on a courtroom visit for a hearing managed to escape out of a window while a third pushed past escorts on an air bridge crowded with passengers at Heathrow before he was subsequently found in a lavatory. A fourth managed to smash a window in the back of a van in Heathrow before evading two escorts, claimed Mr Costin. A team leader managed to detain him. He alleged that the 'gene pool' of good escorts had been watered down by an intensive recruitment campaign by Mitie. 'Training then was done by inexperienced staff who hadn't been in the job five minutes. And it was like the blind leading the blind,' he said. He alleged a basic lack of fitness among officers. 'The fitness of 50 per cent of the staff, I would say, is questionable, and there is no fitness test whatsoever. There were thoughts and talk about bringing fitness tests in, but this didn't happen because they realised they would lose too many staff because of this,' he said. Mitie said it could not comment on individual operations but sources maintained the incident at Heathrow airport on Sunday was extremely rare and was being fully investigated. 'We are proud of the high standards and professional conduct that our care and custody colleagues exhibit every day, often in very challenging circumstances, when carrying out escorting services,' said a source. 'All of our officers have undergone an extensive training programme including the Home Office manual for escorting safely training course – specialist training to ensure escorts have all the skills required to safely remove people from the country – as well as having annual refreshers.' Mr Costin was sacked after sharing a post on X by then Reform leader Richard Tice. It commented on a GB News article headlined 'Home Office Islamic Network aimed to recruit Muslim staff and 'influence policymakers' from the inside'. The piece pointed to Home Office documents showing that a group of more than 700 civil servants aimed to make policy more inclusive of Muslim needs. Mr Costin, who had spent 15 years working for government contractors G4S and Mitie, forwarded a screenshot of Tice's post, which had already been captioned 'Uh oh'. The 57-year-old was suspended in April last year and later sacked, although he had not added any of his own comments when sending the message to a WhatsApp group.
