Police forces criticised for domestic abuse response

A damning report has highlighted how police forces are failing victims of domestic abuse.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Constabularies (HMIC) said victims face a lottery in the way their cases are treated, and singled out Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire as being of serious concern.

Olivia Paterson has been finding out more about the police watchdog's concerns over how our forces are dealing with domestic violence.

Just eight of 43 police forces responded well to domestic abuse and the most vulnerable victims faced a "lottery" in the way their complaints were handled, inspectors said.

The forces singled out by inspectors as being of particularly serious concern were:

• Greater Manchester
• Bedfordshire
• Cambridgeshire
• Gloucestershire

Lancashire Police was hailed as having the best response to domestic abuse.

Read more: Police 'failing' domestic violence victims

Among the forces found to be of serious concern, Bedfordshire had one officer working in its domestic violence unit, and in a case in Greater Manchester, the 13-year-old daughter of a victim was asked to act as a language interpreter for officers investigating allegations against her father.