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National and international policy on domestic violence has been strongly influenced since 2008 by a series of studies on domestic violence conducted at the University of Bristol, resulting for example in the piloting of a national disclosure scheme. The studies have also had a positive impact on the practical ways in which agencies such as the police respond to domestic violence as well as influencing the development of a European Police handbook on domestic violence. The criminal justice system, practitioners and victims have benefited from the studies' insights into the `attrition' that can occur between the reporting of an act of domestic violence to the police and the final outcome in court. They have also gained from Bristol's work on the profiles of perpetrators and the behavioural differences between male and female perpetrators.
Online dating scams have claimed an estimated 230,000 victims in the UK. This study demonstrates how research by the Unit has substantially increased understanding and public awareness of this relatively new and under-reported crime, and helped the police and the online dating industry to address it more effectively. The major beneficiaries of the research, which has attracted international attention, have been:
- the police, nationally and internationally, through assistance, training and advice received on combating the crime and supporting victims;
- the victims, through improvement in the quality of support available to them;
- the public generally, through heightened awareness of the scam.
A series of inter-related research projects, conducted over the last decade by Amanda Robinson, has contributed to significant changes in the services afforded to victims of domestic and sexual violence. Dr. Robinson's research has produced identifiable national and international policy impacts as organizations and governments have used findings from her work to inform their decision-making about the development, implementation and funding of services for these victims of crime. Consequently, service delivery for victims of domestic and sexual violence is becoming more holistic, efficient, and effective, both in the UK and beyond.
This case study focuses on Aisha Gill's ground-breaking research on violence against women (VAW) in the UK, Iraqi Kurdistan and India as part of the Crucible Centre for Human Rights Research. Gill's research has had a direct impact on local, national and international policy-making and professional practice, in particular, in relation to `honour' based violence (HBV) and forced marriage (FM). This has underpinned her work as an academic commentator, with a strong media profile, her reports and policy briefings on VAW for UK and international public and third sector agencies, as well as an expert witness for the Crown Prosecution Service on HBV and FM cases.
This project had a direct impact on practitioners and services, influencing police practice, police training, and judicial cases involving a relatively new and under-reported crime: The Online Dating Romance Scam. It also impacted on society, culture and creativity by stimulating public debate via extensive media coverage. The research established that prevalence was much higher than previously believed, and that existing ideas about typical victim profiles were incorrect. It shed light on psychological risk factors, the processes underlying the scam, and effects on victims. Documenting the emotional effects led to changes in how victims are treated by law enforcement.
This case study concerns the research of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies relating to both individual and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) victims of fraud. It highlights how the underpinning research has influenced major national policy changes, such as the formation of Action Fraud and the services they and other bodies, such as the National Fraud Authority (NFA), Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Office of Fair Trading (OFT), provide to support victims. It also demonstrates how the research has informed policy-makers of the significant impact of fraud on victims, stimulating changes in the services offered; with the Sentencing Council conducting a review of sentencing for fraud related offences.
The extensive knowledge and understanding built up by the National Centre for Cyberstalking Research (NCCR) at the University of Bedfordshire (UoB) has provided the basis for decisions, plans and training programmes by UK government and official bodies including the Stalking and Harassment Working Group of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who are seeking to understand, counter and legislate for cyberstalking; a change in UK law has taken place. Public presentations and extensive international media coverage of the NCCR findings has resulted in an appreciation of, and public debate on, the nature and dangers of cyberstalking, along with potential protection options for victims.
Research on combating interpersonal violence carried out by Dr Erica Bowen (Reader in the Psychology of Intimate Partner Violence) has resulted in:
Professor Julian Roberts` work on victim impact and on public attitudes towards sentencing produced empirically reliable and theoretically sophisticated findings. His victim impact research has been used by lawyers and judges across Canada, has been cited with approval by courts in Canada and England and Wales, and has formed the basis of a teaching module in the national judicial education curriculum in Canada. A second strand of his research on public attitudes to sentencing has helped to shape sentencing guidelines (sentencing ranges) in England and Wales.
In Canada and in England and Wales, those charged with sentencing offenders are now better informed about the nature of victim impact and public attitudes to mitigation. Judges and policy-makers are using this research to achieve a closer fit between sentences and community views of the seriousness of crimes. Taken together these studies helped make the practice of the courts more evidence-based.
This case study describes how research on the rights of victims of cyberstalking conducted by a CRiL researcher in collaboration with researchers from other disciplines has:
(a) informed the views of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the context of the adoption by the European Parliament of a new directive establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime;
(b) influenced the formulation of new prosecutorial policies by the UK Crown Prosecution Service in relation to crimes committed through social media; and
(c) made information available to law enforcement agencies within the UK involved in the repression of cybercrimes.
Through its impact on the adoption of new EU legislation and UK prosecutorial policies, and by providing relevant information to UK law enforcement officials, the research has had a positive impact on the protection of individuals — including in particular the most vulnerable - from cyberstalking, both at the national and European level.