Our commitment to keeping women and girls safe in Merseyside

Our work is aligned to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) three objectives, as outlined on this page.

We have identified actions beneath each objective to improve our response to violence against women and girls.

Build public trust and confidence in policing

We will take action to do the following:

Engage

We will involve women and girls in our work to change and improve practice, including those who are minoritised or those who have lived experience

Monitor our performance

We will monitor and measure progress on reducing violence against women and girls and the effectiveness of activity commissioned in our programme of work.

Behave ethically

We will improve the internal culture of our force to address sexism and misogyny and any breaches of the standards of professional behaviour.

Relentlessly pursue perpetrators

We will take action to do the following:

Improve investigations

We will:

• better support victims through the criminal justice process and increase victim satisfaction and outcomes for victims of domestic abuse
• work with partners to manage offenders, which includes education, prevention, diversion, disruption and enforcement tactics
• identify and proactively pursue perpetrators who pose a risk of harm to women and girls
• improve the capability and capacity in our investigation teams

Adopt a trauma-informed approach

We will:

• take a preventative approach so officers and staff understand how the trauma of violent and abusive behaviours affect women and girls
• ensure that officers and staff tailor their responses appropriately through a trauma-informed and victim-focussed approach to support women and girls

Create safer spaces

We will take action to do the following:

Communicate effectively

We will:

• engage with our communities in the development of solutions
• communicate our vision clearly and provide educational and informative messages to ensure everyone understands the importance of tackling violence against women and girls
• help men understand the part they have to play in eliminating violence against women and girls
• address feelings of safety

Prevent violence and harassment

We will:

• identify and target unsafe online, private and public spaces
• work with partners, including the third sector, to ensure a co-ordinated and effective response to prevent and tackle violence against women and girls