The West Midlands Specialist DA Consortium’s statement on the prisoner early release scheme.

The West Midlands Specialist Domestic Abuse Consortium – made up of The Haven Wolverhampton, Black Country Women’s Aid, Coventry Haven Women’s Aid, and Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid – is disappointed that the government’s prisoner early release arrangements include perpetrators convicted of domestic abuse -related offences. While we recognise the challenges facing the prison system, victim safety must remain the priority in  every decision that affects those impacted by domestic abuse.

The proportionally few domestic abuse perpetrators who actually receive custodial sentences have often committed serious offences. These perpetrators pose a serious risk to their victims usually for far longer than their original sentence.

For many victims and survivors, a perpetrator’s release can, therefore, be a time of increased risk, where there is no guarantee of contact restrictions being put in place to protect them from further harm. With this risk of further harm and situation uncertainty, victims and survivors are subject to increased distress, anxiety, and pressure whilst already facing significant barriers when rebuilding their lives, including securing safe housing, achieving financial stability, and supporting children affected by abuse. These barriers are on top of overcoming mental and/or physical trauma.

We are calling for specialist domestic abuse services to be fully involved in local coordination and release planning processes. As trusted and specialist experts supporting victims and survivors every day across the region, our involvement can help ensure effective safety planning, risk management, and communication with those affected. We are committed to working alongside probation, police, local authorities, and other partners to help ensure that releases are managed safely and effectively.

We are also mindful of the pressures that increased releases may place on probation and wider community services. Effective offender management, information sharing and multi-agency working will require sufficient capacity and resources to respond to both the needs of victims and the risks posed by perpetrators.

The West Midlands Specialist Domestic Abuse Consortium stands ready to collaborate with local partners,  ensuring that victims are informed, protected and supported. We stand united in our focus on victim safety and perpetrator accountability.

West Midlands Specialist Domestic Abuse Consortium