_Research in action


Applied


thinking


A three-month placement with the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology has given PhD student Genevieve Waterhouse fresh insights into how researchers and policy-makers can work together


Robust policy-making depends on robust evidence: when making decisions on issues that affect all our lives, MPs and peers need access to clear, impartial information that gives an accurate picture of current thinking. Providing that evidence is the job of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). In 2015 alone, POST produced 30 briefing notes, on topics ranging from soil health to obesity to the Darknet and online anonymity. PhD student Genevieve Waterhouse


recently completed a three-month stint with POST, supported by the British Psychological Society. The result is POSTnote number 515, Policing Domestic Abuse (tinyurl.com/ z4olp27), which provides an overview of approaches to policing domestic abuse. It’s a hot topic: a major review in 2014 exposed weaknesses and inconsistencies in the police response to such cases, and the Serious Crime Act recently created a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour, effectively criminalising psychological as well as physical abuse. At the same time, the number of incidents continues to rise – police forces receive a call related to domestic violence roughly every 30 seconds, and domestic violence accounted for 11% of reported crimes in 2015.


Identifying effective practice Together, Genevieve and her research partner Dr Sarah Bunn set out to explore how domestic abuse is currently being policed, with a view to identifying what works best in practice.


10_South Bank | Spring 2016


‘Most police forces use a tool called


Robust policy- making depends on robust evidence: MPs and peers need access to clear information that gives them an accurate picture of current thinking


the Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Violence Risk Identification and Assessment and Management Model, or DASH, to initially identify risk levels,’ Genevieve says. ‘But there has been some controversy about a lack of evaluation and the risk that it can be used simply as a “tick box” exercise. So some forces are looking at alternative approaches to both DASH and standard policing practice.’ These alternative practices can be broadly


split into victim-focused approaches, such as the use of so-called ‘second responders’ whose role is to engage with victims on an ongoing basis, giving them support and information and referring them to relevant services. Other forces have piloted technological solutions, including the use of


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