Officers discuss concerns of women who have experienced domestic abuse

Our officers have met with a group of people who have gone through or are experiencing domestic abuse to discuss their concerns and answer questions around police investigations.

They spent time at the Freedom Programme in Derby, which is a support group run independently by Derby Women’s Centre, for women who have been affected by domestic abuse or women who want to learn more about the realities of domestic abuse.

Their aim is to help women to gain a better understanding of the beliefs surrounding domestic abuse, illustrate the effects on children, and to improve the self-esteem of women who have been affected by domestic abuse, within a supportive environment.

During the visit, one of our safeguarding officers was able to answer questions and gain valuable feedback around the ways in which we respond and investigate reports of domestic abuse.

They have also been able to offer further help to some of the women, by completing domestic abuse referrals to other partner agencies who can offer support.

PC Bethany Caldecott, one of our Neighbourhood Safeguarding Officers covering Derby and South Derbyshire said: “The women I have met with so far have been so welcoming. It is great to see the relationships they have developed while on the programme, and the support they have given each other.

“It was very insightful for me as a police officer, and a great opportunity to help us breakdown barriers and improve the understanding of how we respond to domestic abuse, while also listening to their feedback and passing that on so it can be considered for our future investigations.

“Most importantly, we have been able to offer further support to those who need it and I hope the visits will continue so we can reach other women attending future cycles of the Freedom Programme.”

If you, or someone you know is suffering domestic abuse, please get in touch.

We are here, we will listen to you and we will do all we can to provide you with the appropriate support.

• Facebook – send us a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary
• Twitter – direct message our contact centre on @DerPolContact
• Website – complete the online contact form police.uk/ContactUs.
• Phone – call us on 101.

You can also find out more about different ways to access support on our website here: https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/domestic-abuse

We are hosting an online live chat tomorrow (Wednesday 29 December) where you can come and speak to us about abuse, and ask us your questions.

We will be on Microsoft Teams at 2pm. You can join us by clicking here: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%3Ameeting_OTcwMjQ0ZDEtYTEyMi00ZDlhLWFkODMtYjljNDMxODYyZTgz%40thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257B%2522Tid%2522%3A%2522ae0a022d-630d-4396-b8fb-58db3061b91b%2522%2C%2522Oid%2522%3A%25222a98b91b-a538-4478-99e8-8a4ed80eff00%2522%2C%2522IsBroadcastMeeting%2522%3Atrue%257D%26btype%3Da%26role%3Da%26anon%3Dtrue&type=meetup-join&deeplinkId=7c675f82-3100-4729-ae46-7fb02df93da2&directDl=true&msLaunch=true&enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true