An urgent review of allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse by officers and staff is being carried out by forces.

Conduct investigations of abuse allegations are being prioritised, forces have revealed.

Forces have also pledged to change their policing priorities to focus on targeting violence against women and girls (VAWG).

It comes as part of a national iniative led by the Home Office.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing confirmed they are accepting and implementing all of the recommendations made by HMICFRS in a joint inspection issued last year.

All forces will be asked to complete action plans against a VAWG framework.

Details of how the changes to priorities will be managed – and measured – will be set out by forces as well as how they will achieve this while meeting existing national priorities.

The HMI review, published in September, was in response to the murder of Sarah Everard.

It warned a fundamental approach was needed and improved partnership work across policing, health and education was vital.

The three priorities were:

• shift in the priority given to VAWG offences by the police and all partners, including wrap-around, tailored support for victims;
• chief constables should review and ensure that there are consistently high standards in the response to VAWG, including dealing with breaches of non-molestation orders, using Clare’s Law to protect potential domestic abuse victims, and identifying and managing the most dangerous VAWG perpetrators; and
• there should be a national policing strategy to coordinate the response to VAWG.

The response from forces is:

• Communicating clearly and frequently that misogynistic, sexist and sexualised behaviour will not be tolerated by anyone in policing and strengthening the ‘call it out’ culture. 
• Responding unequivocally to allegations of police-perpetrated abuse, learning from mistakes and best practice with an urgent review of all current allegations of sexual misconduct, domestic abuse and other VAWG-related offences against officers and staff, ensuring that they are being investigated fully and quickly.
• Expanding and enhancing processes for listening to women and girls - whether they’re reporting a crime or a place where they’ve felt unsafe – and actively seeking the views of those who have little or no trust in policing. Women’s voices will then shape police action plans and police forces will involve them in scrutinising their performance on VAWG.
• Increased action against violent men. Proactively identifying individuals who pose the highest risk of harm to women and girls, and actively managing them to prevent or reduce offending. Greater use of protective and preventative tools and orders, such as domestic violence protection orders and stalking protection orders, and swifter action on breaches.
• NPCC led and Home Office funded programme Op Soteria is underway that will see five police forces and CPS areas work with academics to transform how the police and CPS handle investigations into rape and sexual offences. It will result in a new model for rape investigation to be adopted nationally.

The announcement coincides with a series of initiatives being launched by forces across the country and a national media campaign funded by the Home Office.

The national policing lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said forces had now set their priorities and made decisions about how they would be met.

She said: “We have a good plan for change in policing to better protect women and girls from violence and root out misogyny in our own ranks.Experts in the VAWG sector have helped shape it and all forces are implementing it. I will review progress to ensure we are delivering as well as enabling others to scrutinise our progress. 

“The government’s decision to make  tackling violence against women and girls a strategic policing requirement reinforces the commitment already made by police chiefs to prioritise making women and girls safer.”