24 Hour Domestic Violence Help-line

The Home Office Press release states that:

'' There are currently 25 specialist domestic violence court schemes across England and Wales. Crown Prosecution Service figures have shown an overall improvement in successful prosecutions for domestic violence cases with 59 per cent of cases resulting in a conviction in December 2005 compared to 46 per cent in December 2003. This figure rises to 71 per cent for cases heard in a specialist domestic violence court...

The specialist domestic violence court programme promotes a combined approach to tackling domestic violence by the police, crown prosecutors, magistrates, courts and probation, together with specialist support services for victims.  Agencies work together to identify, track and risk assess domestic violence cases and better share information so that more offenders are brought to justice, victims are protected and better supported, and further violence is prevented.

Measures which the courts have introduced include:

• dedicated prosecutors and police and trained magistrates and legal advisors who specialise in the issues involved in domestic violence cases;
• either a fast-tracking of domestic violence cases, or a clustering of cases together on a designated day each week or month to make courts run more effectively and speed up justice for victims; and
• separate entrances, exits and waiting areas so that victims are not confronted by their attackers.  ''