Labour Party to introduce ‘Raneem’s Law’ to force police to protect women and girls

The Labour Party will overhaul the policing response to violence against women and girls, saying there can be no more missed opportunities to save women’s lives.

Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola were killed by Raneem’s ex-partner in 2018, despite her telling the police 13 times about violent abuse, stalking and threats to kill in the months before the murder. On the night Raneem and her mother were killed, they called 999 four times, and even though Raneem had herself secured a non-molestation order, no officers were sent to her address.

The party has slammed a “total system failure” in protecting women and girls from violence (VAWG), and a lack of leadership and focus on tackling the scourge of violence against women from the government over many years.

Pledging to turn things round, Labour has said in government it will introduce ‘Raneem’s Law’ – new early intervention measures to transform the policing response to domestic abuse and other sexual offences, to ensure that no more women who are brave enough to report abuse will be failed in this appalling way.

The changes will include putting domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms to ensure that emergency calls from victims are responded to with the appropriate urgency and expertise, following a successful pilot led by Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness in Northumbria.

Labour will also mandate that police forces respond to reports at the earliest opportunity and use the protective tools available to them, with strict new time-limits for assessing the suitability of civil orders like Domestic Violence Prevention Orders (DPVOs), and a dedicated officer in every force to oversee the issuing, monitoring and enforcement of civil orders in VAWG cases.

Labour says that police failures to put in place protective measures at the earliest opportunity and to follow-up on breaches of civil orders where they are made are putting more women at risk of danger, with new figures showing that DVPOs are used in just one per cent of domestic abuse cases, despite having the potential to save lives.

In Raneem’s case, despite having secured a non-molestation order, the police had no record of it on their system and therefore did not take the breach seriously enough on the night Raneem and Khaola were killed. That’s why campaigners have warned that civil orders and injunctions are not currently worth the paper they are written on.

Labour says it would accelerate the roll-out of an electronic link between the Family Court and police forces to enable the immediate sharing of civil orders and injunctions that have been taken out by victims, to prevent dangerous delays and gaps in enforcement.

In government, Labour says it would deliver a step change in tackling VAWG, with a transformative programme to meet its mission of halving violence against women and girls within a decade.

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said:

“Missed opportunities cost lives and far too many have already been lost. We cannot stand by while more women, like Raneem and Khaola, are so badly failed by the system charged with keeping them safe.

“Labour will deliver a step change in tackling violence against women and girls, overhauling the early policing response to these terrible crimes that devastate lives and corrode the very fabric of our society.

“Enough is enough. We cannot stand by as every generation faces the same threats of abuse and violence as the last. That’s why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.”

Nour Norris, sister of Khaola and aunt of Raneem, said:

“As a family we are scarred by the agony of domestic violence. Our hope is simple: that the police will truly understand the hurdles faced by women who report violence, threats and abuse, and that they transform their approach to saving lives. Our plea is for a future where no other family suffers as we have. Raneem’s Law will help to make sure that is the case.”

Ends

Notes:

Raneem’s Law would include:

• Putting specialist domestic abuse workers in the control rooms of every police force, responding to 999 calls and supporting victims of abuse when crimes are reported.
  
  
• • This policy builds on the successful work of Labour Police and Crime Commissioners in Northumbria - first by Vera Baird and then by Kim McGuinness - putting specialist domestic abuse advisors into 999 control rooms at peak times to speak directly to victims, advise police response officers, and to ensure that victims are provided with proper support.
    
    
  • In Northumbria, domestic abuse workers sit alongside police officers responding to 999 grade two priority response calls to identify victims and potential victims of domestic abuse and offer those victims the opportunity to speak directly with a trained specialist.
    
    
  • Labour would roll out the Northumbria system to all police forces, placing specialist domestic abuse workers in control rooms to respond to domestic abuse-related calls during peak hours.

• Requiring police forces to overhaul their approach to early protection for victims of VAWG, with strict new time-limits for assessing the suitability of civil orders when offences are reported. This would involve:
  
  
• • Strengthening existing statutory guidance to ensure that the police properly consider the need for a protective civil order within 24 hours of a VAWG offence being flagged (either reported by a victim or on the arrest of a perpetrator).
    
    
  • Mandating that figures on police applications for civil orders and reasons for not applying for them be submitted to the NPCC and Home Office on a regular basis to ensure consistent performance collection, accountability and inspection.
    
    
  • Requiring every police force to have a dedicated officer to oversee the issuing, monitoring and enforcement of civil orders in VAWG cases.
    
    
  • Accelerating the national roll-out of an electronic link between the Family Court and police forces to enable the immediate sharing of civil orders and injunctions to prevent delays and gaps in enforcement.