DA in a Day campaign - response to domestic abuse (DA) incidents

The aim of ‘DA in a Day’ is to ensure officers have a clear understanding of communities’ expectations of the police when dealing with incidents of DA. The overarching aim is for officers to respond quickly, arrest when appropriate, protect the victim, investigate thoroughly and achieve a positive outcome in a timely manner.

The 2022 His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspection identified the Professionalising Investigations Programme (PIP-1) and the quality of initial investigations as areas for improvement. Improving response times, increasing arrest rates and strengthening the initial investigation would achieve more positive outcomes.

An additional aim was added for the Public Protection Unit (PPU) and the divisional leadership teams to develop a framework to track performance. 

The intended outcomes of ‘DA in a Day’ are to:

• improve response time to incidents of DA
• increase arrest rates
• improve initial safeguarding of victims
• improve the standard of initial investigations
• increase the number of positive outcomes during the first period of detention

‘DA in a Day’ was introduced in response to poor DA response times in Lancashire, with a noticeable disconnect between emergency and non-emergency DA calls. The arrest rates were lower than expected, with around 25% of cases coming through custody, compared to an anticipated 40–50%. 

RAPID framework

The RAPID framework was developed by the PPU and the divisional leadership teams to track the force’s DA response performance against each of the five following measures:

• R - Respond quickly
• A - Arrest where there is a power to do so
• P - Protect the victim and others using appropriate safeguarding measures
• I - Investigate effectively
• D - Detain the suspect and seek to achieve a positive outcome during first period of detention

The RAPID approach is based on research conducted by the Metropolitan Police Service in 2019, which reviewed 75,000 DA cases and identified themes that could be linked to positive outcomes. The findings showed that when responding to DA, if officers failed to make an arrest at the time of the incident, the likelihood of achieving a positive outcome dropped significantly. The research provided Lancashire Constabulary with an insight on how to respond quickly, provide safeguarding at the earliest opportunity, conduct thorough investigations and achieve positive outcomes.

The RAPID framework has become the central focus of DA performance monitoring at both local and force-level governance. To embed the RAPID framework within force, a communications campaign was launched. The campaign included internal media engagement and the rollout of ‘DA in a Day’, where a letter of RAPID was revealed each week. Posters were also displayed throughout the force, with the messaging aligning to the RAPID framework. This was to ensure operational leads are informed and officers are using consistent language when discussing DA. The communication campaign costs have been minimal, with no additional cost to the organisation.

Vulnerability dashboard

To support the framework, a vulnerability dashboard has been developed to draw the data together from several Power BI products, including:

• response
• custody
• Operation Encompass (allows police to share information with schools about children who have been affected by domestic abuse)
• civil orders
• outcomes

The data feeds directly into the RAPID model, enabling the force to monitor how teams are performing against each RAPID measure. The dashboard also centralises data from broader vulnerability workstreams including stalking, rape, other sexual offences, and vulnerable adult recording. This centralisation of data ensures a comprehensive view of safeguarding and investigative performance.

RAPID performance meetings and vulnerability meetings

RAPID performance meetings have replaced DA performance meetings to ensure consistency across all the basic command unit (BCUs). Each BCU holds a monthly vulnerability meeting, which reviews performance across all vulnerability strands including, DA and rape and serious sexual offences (RASSO). These meetings utilise the vulnerability dashboard to assess divisional performance from the previous month.

The vulnerability meeting feeds into the force-wide strategic vulnerability board (SVB) which is chaired by an assistant chief constable. The SVB provides oversight and scrutiny across all BCUs, to ensure consistency and accountability in the force’s response to DA.

RAPID leads

RAPID leads have been appointed in each BCU at inspector or chief inspector rank to have an oversight of one of the five RAPID strands. The leads are responsible for monitoring data from the vulnerability dashboard and are accountable for performance within their strand. This structure provides the divisional lead with a clear line of accountability and reinforces local ownership of DA performance.

The impact of DA in day has been:

• greater scrutiny regarding response time to incidents of DA
• increased arrest rates
• increase in the number of domestic violence protection notices (DVPN) and domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs) issued
• increase in the number of Operation Encompass referrals
• increase in the number of positive outcomes
• increase in the number of charges

The figures are monitored daily and reviewed as part of the data prepared for the monthly SVB.

There has been improvements to officers’ and investigators’ understanding of how to maximise opportunities for achieving positive outcomes for victims, with most officers now being able to reference the ‘DA in a Day campaign’ and the RAPID framework.

Domestic abuse partners, such as victim services, are aware and support ‘DA in a Day’ and the force has supported several external forces to adopt the initiative.

• It is essential to have chief officer support at the earliest opportunity. This has ensured right communications are delivered, provide sufficient visibility and enable strategic-level adoption of the RAPID framework.
• There has been initial resistance around the ‘arrest’ strand of RAPID, due to concerns over the removal of discretion. The communication campaign clarified that arrest is expected to be a default where offences are recognised and a suspect has been identified. It is important to set out clear expectations and explain the evidence-based practice behind the link between arrest and achieving positive outcomes for victims.
• An area for improvement is to develop a briefing for sergeants. While there was not significant resistance, more focused messaging at supervisory level would have been beneficial to reinforce RAPID framework.
• It is important to keep the campaign’s messages simple and effective. There have been some requests to add additional elements to the RAPID framework. However, including every single aspect of the DA response risks diluting the core message. To manage this, the vulnerability governance leads made decisions on what content to include. The decisions were signed off at the SVB to ensure that the messaging remained clear, accessible, and aligned with the existing RAPID framework.