GMP 'failing' domestic abuse victims

Police failures in the treatment of domestic violence victims are "just not good enough" but have been prevalent for decades, the head of a woman's charity told Daybreak.

Refuge chief executive Sandra Horley explained: "We are very pleased by the HMIC report but we are not surprised. It confirms what Refuge has been saying for decades.

"For decades we have been highlighting police failings, and these failings are absolutely shocking. Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner...and to use the words of HMIC the police response is just not good enough."

Read: Report: 77 women killed by partners in a year

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy says he's disappointed by criticism of the way his force handles domestic violence cases. He points to the high number of arrests and the volume of recorded incidents.

He says they've been involved in a number of ground breaking initiatives to tackle the issue.

A government report has identified serious concerns over how Greater Manchester Police deal with domestic violence cases.

It was one of four forces singled out for issues including a lack of responsibility for victim safety. GMP say the report is unfair, and doesn't reflect all agencies involved.

Campaigner Eve Thomas says things are set to get worse:

Thousands of victims of domestic violence are being failed by police due to 'alarming and unacceptable weaknesses' in investigations, inspectors found. In Greater Manchester, a 13-year-old daughter of a victim was asked to be an interpreter for officers investigating allegations against her father.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary said Greater Manchester was of particularly serious concern and Lancashire Police had the best response to domestic abuse. There were 269,700 domestic abuse crimes from 2012 to 2013 in England and Wales.77 women were killed by their partners or ex partners.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham said she had spoken to "plenty of examples" of domestic abuse victims who had been failed by police.

"They were expecting the responding officer to come over the threshold and actually stop the abuse from happening, and all too often the officer was listening to the radio of waiting for the next call to come in," she told ITV News.

One victim said she heard an officer tell a colleague: "I'm just at a DV [domestic violence case], I'll be a couple of minutes."

"It's not taking it seriously."

The HMIC report into domestic violence in England and Wales said:

• There were 269,700 domestic abuse-related crimes between 2012 and 2013
• 77 women were killed by their partners or ex-partners in the same period
• Police receive a call for help every 30 seconds from a woman reporting abuse