Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Panel in Worcestershire

Domestic violence perpetrator programmes need to work with perpetrators who cause the most harm, through repeat offending against the same victim or serial offending in a succession of relationships. Having a systematic, multi-agency decision making process is likely to be the most effective approach to identify the most appropriate perpetrators for a specific intervention1. The Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Panel (DAPP) was set up in Worcestershire in 2018, primarily to facilitate referrals to the Drive perpetrator programme which started at the same time, and also to coordinate actions from partner agencies to disrupt the offending behaviour of domestic violence perpetrators.
An evaluation of the DAPP was conducted between October 2018 and March 2021 to focus on the implementation and operation of the DAPP and identify learning for other areas considering a similar approach. A mixed methods approach was used, with a quantitative analysis of police crime and incident data and DAPP programme data alongside qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with the Drive team and stakeholders from partner agencies (n=49 interviews over four time periods).
The report considers the characteristics of perpetrators referred to the DAPP and Drive over time, stakeholder engagement with the DAPP and the impact on the police response to domestic violence and abuse.