Specialist domestic abuse advocates will be embedded in Merseyside Police control rooms after new Home Office funding. The scheme aims to improve early risk assessment and strengthen protection for victims and survivors.
When someone contacts 999 regarding domestic abuse, the decisions made during those initial, critical minutes can have a profound impact on victim safety. To enhance this response, Merseyside Police has launched a new initiative to provide real-time support from specialist domestic abuse professionals, who are now embedded directly within the force's control rooms. This move follows the Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner securing £120,000 in Home Office funding to implement Renèe’s Law at a local level. The scheme is named in memory of Renèe Uder and her mother, Hales Salim, who were murdered in 2018 in Solihull by Uder’s ex-husband.
Renèe’s Law aims to strengthen how police assess risk and respond to domestic abuse, with the broader goal of reducing violence against women and girls by half over the next decade. As part of this funding, the force has placed two independent domestic violence advocates, known as IDVAs, inside the 999 control room for the first time. By working alongside call handlers, these specialists provide immediate advice to improve risk assessments and ensure that victims are connected to the appropriate safeguarding support at the earliest opportunity.
Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, emphasized the importance of this integration, noting that embedding experts at the point of contact is vital to ensuring victims receive the right support during what is often the most dangerous moment of their lives.
Support services involved in the project say the new approach ensures that risk is identified earlier and that police responses are strengthened from the very start of an emergency call.
