The Hampshire Domestic Abuse Experiment

Chief Superintendent Scott Chilton

Domestic abuse -

• Global curse – Failing the victims ?• Do we know what works ?• Specific experiments

– No systematic review• Project CARA• Longitudinal study – What can we

do with the data ?

What is Project CARA?

• Randomised Controlled Trial• Home Office/CPS/MOJ and third

sector design and support• Domestic Abuse Cases involving

Conditional Caution• Comparison of reoffending

between offenders subject to offending workshops and those not subject to this condition

Progress to date

• Experiment commenced on 13th August 2012

• All data/cases tracked • ‘Sub experiment’ - Victims views• Positives* – Workshop

attendance/lack of reoffending/low attrition/positive victim feedback

• Negatives – Case flow/eligibility criteria/evidential sufficiency

The CJS Response

Taking a year of data in Western Hampshire March 2012/13:

- 9432 calls for service*- 2290 arrests- 768 charged

*to be data cleansed

DisposalsProject CARA: Disposal Types

1099, 54%698, 35%

123, 6% 56, 3% 46, 2%

NFAChargeConditional CautionSimple CautionOther

A New Approach?

• Analysis of data has shown that 54% of cases result in no further action (NFA)– No action taken to address offending

behaviour– Risk of reoffending increased due to

the feeling that offender “got away with it”

– Increased police involvement in further offences due to NFA

‘Nudge’

• Can we encourage NFA’d offenders to participate in workshops by the application of ‘nudge’ principles?

• Can a Level 5 RCT be designed to test the effectiveness of this approach?

What is ‘Nudge’?

• The nudge principle involves persuasion of individuals to carry out a course of action by highlighting the best option in particular circumstances – in this case workshop attendance.

• Primarily practiced by Cabinet Office Behavioural Insights Team in UK

• Nudge is based on voluntary decision-making

Progress

• Eligibility criteria proposed & pipeline study progressing

• 10-case trial to be carried out to ascertain whether offenders will attend voluntarily

• If feasible RCT to compare those attending a workshop against those who do not and subsequent reoffending rates

Benefits of ‘Nudge’

• Allows greater numbers of individuals to attend workshops

• Evidence* from victims has shown that workshops can change offender behaviour

• Workshops will possibly reduce the number of individuals returning to custody for domestic offences after being NFA’d for previous offences

CJS Response• Can and does the CJS respond to

domestic abuse as policy intends?

• Is reoffending higher or lower depending on outcome of arrest?

• Are particular categories (e.g. age group / risk category more likely to reoffend?

• Research longitudinal study underway.

Next steps…………….• Project CARA – Evaluation 2014• Nudge – Feasibility and RCT (NFA’s)• CJS Response Examined – Does the

evidence prove that victims are failed? • Pipeline study - using Hampshire data• Domestic Abuse Summit – Evidenced

research, victims and policy – Major rethink

• Innovation and challenge -Targeting, Testing and Tracking

Thank you