Inside Doncaster's 'determined' domestic abuse team as their 'resilience' shines through

Domestic Abuse (DA) is a wide-ranging term that can take a number of different forms, including physical, sexual and financial abuse, as well as coercive control, forced marriage and online abuse.

The behaviour inflicted on victims is often continuous, designed to wear them down through vile patterns of acts of assault, humiliation, intimidation and other forms of abuse.

It leaves them frightened to speak out because they're so terrified of the repercussions, but when they do, it's the DA team who gives them their unwavering support to fight for justice on their behalf.

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Lewis, who leads Doncaster's DA Team, said: "We understand that when victims of domestic abuse come to us to tell us what has happened they are enduring a whole rollercoaster of emotions.

"They might be thinking 'I wish I hadn't gone through with this' but we want them to know that we are here to help them and that we understand. We want to help them with the process to make it as easy as possible for them.”

Being a part of the DA team requires a lot of crucial qualities and officers involved in various cases are often working against the clock to secure charges against dangerous individuals.

Between 3 November 2023 and 4 December 2023, the team secured 55 charges against 19 people for various DA-linked offences, including assault, harassment, rape, possession of an offensive weapon and sexual assault.

This included a five-day period in which eight high risk DA suspects were charged with a total of 31 offences between them.

There was praise recently for PC Steven Young for his "instrumental" work in securing justice for a DA victim and Investigating Officer Abbey Blanchard was also hailed for her "communication skills and emotional intelligence".

These talents allowed her to really connect with victims so they felt supported and comfortable enough to trust her and these skills are on show every day in the DA team.

"The staff in these roles are so focused and sergeants have to be empathetic to keep them motivated," DCI Lewis said. "When you listen to the officers, you realise just how determined they are.

"They don't want to give up on a case and often don't want it to go onto the next team so they will see it through from start to finish.

"They don't want to hand it over and that comes from the satisfaction they got from their job roles. They will push through to get a conviction because they are so resilient."

As well as supporting victims, staff working on DA cases have to remain professional and impartial to ensure justice prevails.

"They will watch horrific body worn video of someone being abusive and then they have to be completely impartial in an interview knowing what they have just seen them do," DCI Lewis said.

They have to be in a completely different emotional state and they have to be professional because they have to get that other account of what happened.

"They mustn't cast any aspersions or judgments and they must just let the facts speak for themselves.

"Human beings are designed to be armchair critics and have a say on everything but they can't do that and have to be completely impartial."

Officers know the fears running through victims' heads that might be preventing them from coming forward and revealing the abuse they have faced.

They know they might be wracked with emotional guilt or feel unable to leave their partners due to financial or family reasons but most importantly, the DA Team wants victims to know that they are there to listen and that they will be believed.

"We have so much dedicated support available to help victims of rape and domestic abuse," Detective Inspector Mark Nicholson-Gee said.

"There's so much understanding now around victim mentality and the financial pressures they face that might be persuading them against coming forward.

"We want to reassure them that there is so much specialist support available and we want them to know that they will be believed and that we are here to help them."

If you are experiencing domestic abuse, you can report it to us by calling 101 or 999 in an emergency. Many abusers rely on silence so they can continue their campaign of abuse and we would encourage you to tell a family member, friend or neighbour if you don't feel comfortable talking to the police.

Advice and support on domestic abuse can be found on our website, with links to charities, organisations and part agencies that can offer additional help and guidance.