Domestic Homicide Project Spotlight Briefing #4: Carers

Abstract

The Domestic Homicide Project (the Project), based in the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP), was established by National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing. The Project was created in May 2020 through Home Office funding to collect, review, and share quick-time learning from all police-recorded domestic
homicides and suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation. All police forces in England and Wales submit notice of relevant deaths to the Project shortly after the death occurs. The research is the first police-led work of its kind systematically collecting and analysing domestic homicides and suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse across England and Wales, aiming to learn lessons from every tragic death to seek to prevent future deaths. More detail, including key findings and recommendations, can be found in our first report, ‘Domestic Homicides and Suspected Victim Suicides During the Covid-19 Pandemic 2020-2021’ and our forthcoming second year report (both available via www.vkpp.org.uk ). This briefing examines the role of the carer in more depth. It considers both where the victim was carer to the suspect and where the suspect was carer to the victim. For the purpose of this briefing, a carer has been defined as: anyone who is living with (or specifically mentioned as caring for) a victim/suspect with a disability or severe or longterm illness, whether physical or mental/neurological. This has been established from contextual information provided by the police forces and therefore is dependent on the information provided and the judgement of the Project Team. The subset of data includes domestic homicides and suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse where the victim and suspect are aged 16 and over. This briefing addresses an evidence gap identified by Bracewell et al. (2022) on domestic homicides involving carers.