Change Plus
Perpetrator Learning and Understanding Self
Delivered in collaboration with local police forces
Change Plus is a 2 day domestic abuse awareness course. It aims to enable perpetrators of abuse to recognise their behaviour is abusive.
Long term goals of the programme include:
- reducing the reoccurrence of domestic abuse in the future
- reducing re-offending
- reducing future demands on the criminal justice system and partner agencies
- providing help and support to the victims of these offences
Initially a perpetrator risk assessment is completed alongside a needs assessment, which identifies what support the perpetrator needs from external agencies. Following assessment of risk and need, the perpetrator is required to attend 2 full day domestic abuse awareness sessions. Day 1 will provide information, discussion and reflection on ‘what is domestic abuse?’ and Day 2 will provide information, discussion and reflection on ‘the impact of domestic abuse’.
Session aims:
- Increase the safety of women and children living with domestic violence and abuse
- Divert domestic abuse offenders away from the criminal justice system by providing alternative, proportionate, effective and targeted interventions to reduce the risk of reoffending
- Enable perpetrators to recognise they have been violent, coercive or controlling and consider changing their behaviour
- Reduce the potential for reoffending through early identification of risk leading to a swift, proportionate and effective criminal justice response
- Help perpetrators to identify beliefs and intents that underpin their abusive behaviour
- Help perpetrators to acknowledge the effects of their abusive behaviour
- Improve collaboration and decision making at the point of arrest resulting in interventions which are more targeted and proportionate
- Identify the risks and needs of Domestic abuse perpetrators at the earliest point after arrest to inform effective decision making , reduce re-offending and provide support
- Identify and share relevant information across the partners in particular in those cases that are assessed as high risk
- Improve information sharing between the criminal justice and community safety partners in order to reduce re-offending
