Funding success: £30.8k secured from Research England to advance research on police responses to domestic abuse cases
Technological advancements have fundamentally transformed the landscape of domestic abuse, making it more pervasive, intrusive, and easier to perpetrate. Recent research funded by the N8 Policing Research Partnership found that, while police forces have made strides in handling digital evidence in domestic abuse cases, more must be done to ensure long-lasting improvements.
Following their initial study, researchers from the University of Liverpool have secured £30.8k in follow-on-funding from Research England (UK) to continue their work in this critical area. The previous report highlighted the importance of digital training and incorporating insights from third-sector organisations to improve police responses and better support victims.
Now, in partnership with Welsh Women’s Aid and four police forces—Cheshire, Merseyside, Durham, and Cumbria—the research team, led by Dr Antoinette Huber, Professor Barry Godfrey from the Department of Sociology, Social Policy, and Criminology, and Dr Samuel Saunders from the Centre for Innovation in Education, will develop a comprehensive suite of in-person and online training. This initiative is set to serve as a national model for police training in addressing domestic abuse.
Speaking of the funding award, Dr Antoinette Huber, Principal Investigator, shared:
“We are really pleased to be working alongside our third sector and police partners in developing police training which will improve the identification and execution of digital evidence collection in cases of technology facilitated domestic abuse. Developing training underpinned by victim-survivor experiences is vital for ensuring successful outcomes in these cases."
The initiative aims to equip police officers with the skills and knowledge required to address the digital dimension of domestic abuse, ensuring a more effective and supportive response for victims across the UK.