Domestic abuse specialists to be embedded within 999 control rooms

Domestic abuse specialists will now be embedded in 999 control rooms in England and Wales, under new plans from home secretary Yvette Cooper. This comes after calls from campaigners emphasising the need for domestic violence victims to be taken seriously from the first emergency call they make.

One campaigner's niece and sister were tragically murdered by her niece's ex-partner after calling the police multiple times. Nour Norris, who lost her niece Raneem Oudeh, 22, and sister Khaola Saleem, 49, in a horrific attack in 2018 stressed that those reaching out to the police for assistance "need to be given the opportunity to be saved".

The Home Office has said that domestic abuse specialists will be embedded within control rules as part of Raneem's Law, which aims to overhaul the police response to incidents of violence against women and girls. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.

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This initiative is set to begin early next year with a pilot funded by the UK Government in select police forces starting from early 2025. However details on how many forces will participate in the initial phase have not been disclosed.

An inquest into the deaths of Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem revealed that errors by West Midlands Police had significantly contributed to their deaths. On the night of their murder Ms Oudeh made four calls to West Midlands Police expressing fears for her safety. Prior to this the force had dealt with 10 domestic abuse complaints connected to her case. Following an investigation into the incident five officers faced disciplinary action for their failures.

Reflecting on the loss of her family members Ms Norris poignantly remarked that her sister and niece "tried their best to be here today" but were let down by systemic failures. She added: "No-one should really have to suffer what Raneem suffered.

"Trying to explain herself, trying to put an administration order in place for herself .. trying to do whatever it takes to be heard and she was still not heard until she lost her life. My sister lost her life because she was doing the job of the police doing the sacrificing for mother and daughter."

During a visit to Kent Police's Coldharbour Police Complex in Aylesford Ms Norris joined Ms Cooper and safeguarding minister Jess Phillips in meeting with 999 control handlers. The team were shown the emergency response video call which is increasingly being utilised by officers to guarantee quick support and referrals to assistance for victims. Raneem's Law will soon come into force, rooted in national guidelines that the police must adhere to.

Ms Cooper said: "What we've seen is if there is proper domestic abuse expertise it means that you can get the right response to the calls that come in and proper understanding of the seriousness of domestic abuse as a crime and how lives are at risk. In the most serious cases as we saw in the awful case where Raneem and her mother Khaola lost their lives because the police didn't respond to a 999 call. We cannot let that happen and that's why we want to make sure that we've got that expertise that we need in 999 control rooms across the country."