Operation Mistletoe will tackle abusers and support victims

Date article online: 13/12/2006

Greater Manchester Police is committed to stamping out all forms of domestic abuse and has launched Operation Mistletoe across the county to protect and support victims, and to bring those committing these vicious crimes to justice.

Shocking statistics reveal that there is a domestic abuse related call to police in the UK every 20 seconds, that victims suffer an average of 35 attacks before seeking help from the police. More appallingly this ugly crime claims the lives of two women every week.

Over the Christmas and New Year period heightened family tensions, unrealistic expectations and worries about finances can, when fuelled by excessive drinking, lead to an increase in the numbers and severity of domestic abuse attacks. Victims can feel more isolated than usual because they do not want to impinge on other people’s celebrations, or their usual places of refuge and support may not be available over the festive period.

Each division has increased the number of officers and specialist domestic abuse investigators on duty to handle the expected increase in incidents over the festive period.

In Trafford, drop-in centres are being introduced to encourage people to report incidents and to offer a greater level of support to victims.  Rochdale has developed a helpline number to be placed in washrooms of the local hospitals and Tameside has compiled a list of their top 50 persistent offenders and families deemed most at risk.  Visits will be conducted in the run up to Christmas to provide support and information where needed to both victims and offenders.

Salford will be the first division within GMP to use head cameras to collect evidence from scenes of domestic abuse incidents.  Although these have never been in used in GMP before, the cameras have proved very successful elsewhere in supporting domestic prosecutions.

Officers have been briefed on how best to handle reported incidents and support the families involved.  In circumstances where the victim does not want to press charges, officers are being urged to make an arrest if there is enough evidence to suggest an incident has taken place.  The focus is on building a case against an offender that does not rely solely on the victim’s testimony.

Detective Inspector Jayne Shackleton, Head of Family Support Unit at GMP said: "Christmas is supposed to be a time of love and togetherness, but unfortunately for some it can be a time of fear and suffering.  It is common for incidents of domestic abuse to increase at Christmas and this could be down to a number of factors such as high spending, increase in alcohol consumption and families being forced to spend more time together over the festive period.

"There is however, no excuse for any kind of abuse to take place and I would like to get the message across that GMP take all reports of domestic abuse very seriously and will do all we can to secure convictions against abusers.

"We can now act on information from friends or family so if you or someone you know is suffering, please get help.  Make your New Year’s resolution early, don’t become part of these shocking statistics, and stop the abuse before it goes any further."