Home Office was warned about ‘flawed' domestic violence tool

Telegraph

2 days ago

The Home Office was warned about a 'deeply flawed' domestic violence screening tool that failed to protect more than 50 high-risk women who were later murdered.
An assessment in February warned the department and advisers to Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities, that the tool was 'as helpful as flipping a coin'.
For 16 years, officers and social workers have used a risk assessment called Dash – short for Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour-based violence – to decide which victims get urgent protection.
The checklist – which assesses the risk to women based on answers to a list of 27 questions – is still used by 24 of Britain's police forces.
That is despite 55 women being killed after being wrongly categorised as only being at 'low' or 'medium' risk since its introduction in 2009. A data scientist behind a rival tool claimed that the true toll could top 400 deaths.
In February, a document warned the Home Office: 'In the most recent analysis of Dash's performance (2023), accounting for over 300,000 cases, Dash performed poorly, labelling 96.3 per cent of high-risk victims, some likely at risk of femicide, as standard (low) or medium risk.'
But despite the findings, the department went on to commission SafeLives, the charity behind Dash, to review how police and social services assess risk in domestic abuse cases.
Women reporting abuse are asked 27 questions by Dash to gauge the likelihood of imminent harm or death at the hands of their abuser. The checklist asks whether the perpetrator has ever used a weapon, threatened to kill, or attempted to strangle, choke, suffocate or drown the victim.
SafeLives says victims must answer 'yes' to at least 14 questions to be classed as 'high risk' and guaranteed urgent intervention.
Scores of nine to 13 mean 'medium' risk, while fewer than nine is 'standard' – but neither of these lower gradings guarantees women specialist support.
Standing Together, a domestic violence charity, found that domestic homicide reviews showed victims had been killed after scoring an average of eight ticks, not the 14 needed for urgent support.
Practitioners can use 'professional judgment' to override low scores and are instructed to escalate cases after three or more police call-outs in a year.
Bethany Fields, 21, was denied support before being killed by her former partner because she had been graded only 'medium' risk using a Dash checklist.
On August 9 2019, Fields told police that Paul Crowther had threatened to kill her. She gave a statement and an officer completed a Dash form. He ticked 'yes' to only nine questions, grading her at 'medium' risk. A month later, Crowther stabbed her to death in the street.
Natalie Saunders, 33, was murdered by Stephen Charlton in October 2018 after Cleveland Police repeatedly graded her as being at medium risk.
Her parents told The Telegraph they believe earlier intervention could have saved her life. Barbara Saunders, 67, said: 'She's never been medium risk, in none of them. In not one assault, she's not been medium.'
Bereaved families have likened the scandal to Horizon, the Post Office IT system that destroyed lives while officials looked the other way.
Alicia Kearns MP, the shadow safeguarding minister, has demanded ministers order an 'urgent' review of Dash.
SafeLives maintains that Dash has saved many lives. 'The problem is not the Dash,' said Ellen Miller, its chief executive. 'The problem is police officers' values and behaviours.'