THEIR force lead for domestic abuse, Superintendent Dan Morrissey, has praised the work of our local teams as National Response Policing Week highlights their important role in helping their communities.

In the last 12 months, response officers in Essex made 6,492 arrests, having attended 11,314 domestic emergencies.

In total about one in five victim-based crimes recorded in Essex are domestic abuse-related.

We have proactive and specialist domestic abuse investigations teams in place across the force but Supt Morrissey is clear there must be a whole-force approach.

He said: “Domestic abuse policing does not sit with one specialist team alone. Every response officer has a responsibility to recognise abuse and take action to protect victims.

“We know the impact of domestic offences is far-reaching. The situations in which they occur can be complex and officers will not always be welcomed into those environments.

“Response officers are often the first professionals a victim will ever speak to about domestic abuse. What they do in those first moments – listening, believing and acting decisively to protect someone – can be life changing.

“Our response officers are trained to put safety first. That means identifying risk quickly, taking positive action where offences are disclosed, and making sure victims understand they are not alone and that help is available.”

Supt Morrissey added: “Domestic abuse is not just about one incident – it is about patterns of behaviour. The work our response officers do at the scene, from capturing early evidence to speaking with witnesses, is crucial to building strong, victim focused investigations.

“Even when victims are understandably frightened or unsure about supporting a prosecution, the professionalism of our response officers helps ensure evidence is secured early, giving us the best possible chance of holding perpetrators to account.

“Effective first response lays the foundations for successful prosecutions. The quality of the initial investigation – the evidence gathered, the risks identified, and the safeguarding put in place – directly impacts our ability to secure convictions against offenders.”