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Case summary
Inspector’s comments

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The implementation and delivery of services should support the safety of other people effectively. Practitioners should:

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Case summary

Michelle is a 32-year-old female sentenced to a community order and 80 hours of unpaid work for an offence of common assault. The victim was Michelle’s ex-partner. The assault occurred during an argument in the street when both were intoxicated after a night out, and involved Michelle spitting at her ex. Although this was Michelle’s first conviction, domestic abuse checks showed three previous incidents in similar circumstances during the couple’s five-year relationship. On two of these occasions, Michelle was cited as the victim. In the third, Michelle was spoken to by the police for breach of the peace. A restraining order was imposed by the court at the point of sentencing and Michelle was assessed as posing a low risk of causing serious harm.

Following sentence, Michelle’s case was allocated to an experienced probation services officer (PSO). Under usual circumstances she would have been allocated to an unpaid work specialist, but due to the domestic abuse incident, the existence of a restraining order and the need for on-going domestic abuse checks and closer monitoring, alternative arrangements were part of the local protocol.

Michelle was upset and tearful during the induction appointment with her responsible officer. The breakdown of her relationship had been traumatic, and she was devastated at the imposition of the restraining order. She accepted that this had resulted from a period when she had been relentlessly contacting her ex-partner during her struggle to accept that the relationship was over. It was clear to the responsible officer that Michelle might benefit from some form of counselling and so she was signposted to local services.

Although Michelle’s order only consisted of unpaid work, the responsible officer told Michelle that they were happy to maintain contact and meet with her when available. Michelle took up this offer and often met briefly with the responsible officer on her return from her unpaid work placements. Since the breakdown of her relationship, Michelle had been living alone and was grateful for the contact with her responsible officer.

Michelle’s attendance was outstanding, and the responsible officer was able to verify through discussion with her and domestic abuse checks that she was sticking to the terms of the restraining order and not contacting her ex-partner.

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Inspector’s comments

This type of case is common: individuals made subject to stand-alone unpaid work for offences of domestic abuse. Although these can be difficult to manage and escalation of risk difficult to ascertain and respond to, in this instance effective allocation procedures were in place to ensure a suitable level of oversight by an experienced PSO.

It was clear from this case that, despite the unpaid work focus, the responsible officer was attentive to the risk of harm factors and the need to monitor Michelle’s behaviour through discussion with her and following this up with regular domestic abuse checks.

Although there was no rehabilitation activity requirement in place, the responsible officer quite rightly sought agreement from her line manager to see Michelle every week after she had attended her unpaid work sessions. This was productive both from a risk monitoring perspective and in providing some low-level support, given that Michelle was struggling to cope with the end of her relationship, which could have resulted in an escalation in risk.

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This case summary is intended for training/learning purposes and includes a fictional name.