Police today welcomed a ground-breaking new pilot in Christchurch which aims to ensure families experiencing family violence are safe and receive the services they need to prevent further harm.
At the heart of the new approach is government agencies and NGOs working together for families/whānau to provide increased support to high-risk victims, better manage perpetrators and improve collaboration between agencies.
The Integrated Safety Response (ISR) sees Police, CYF, Corrections, Health, specialist family violence NGOs and kaupapa Māori services working together to support victims, offenders and their whānau.
“This pilot provides an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of victims, offenders and families by introducing an integrated response to addressing individual needs” says Police Acting Commissioner Mike Clement.
“On average Police respond to a family violence incident every 4.9 minutes and each day Police visit 299 homes in response to family violence. This new approach means a joined up response to every episode, information sharing protocols, an evidence-based risk assessment framework, an electronic case management system and dedicated support, coordination and oversight roles.”
“Piloting this new collaborative approach in Christchurch also provides an opportunity to make a significant difference to the lives of people in Canterbury. There are already strong partnerships between agencies with good capability to respond to victim, perpetrator and whānau needs. Bringing those capabilities together in a coordinated way enables us to get the right support to the right people at the right time,” he said.
Police District Commander Superintendent John Price says Police in Canterbury receive about 10,000 calls a year to instances of family harm.
“We know that family harm is under-reported, but my hope is that as a result of this new approach at-risk families will gain greater trust and confidence to come forward and report incidents.
“I genuinely believe this approach will make a difference. Why? Because it’s all about being integrated. What that means is having joined up governance, resourcing, capability and accountability.
A key feature of the new model is the identification of ‘high risk’ victims and an independent family violence specialist to support these victims to reduce the risk of further violence. It also aims to assess and support the ‘whole’ family’s needs and better manage the perpetrators of violence.
ISR focuses on the support and services that families, including victims and perpetrators, receive following family violence reported to NZ Police and high risk prison releases in Christchurch. It will provide an opportunity to test the new approach before potentially rolling out a new national model. The pilot is part of a cross-agency work programme overseen by the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence.
For more information, see: www.police.govt.nz/integratedsafetyresponse.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
Contact: leigh.coleman@police.govt.nz