DURHAM Police and its partner agencies are continuing to surpass national targets when it comes to tackling domestic violence.

Figures for the past 12 months – from April last year to the end of March – show there were 293 cases in County Durham and Darlington involving high-risk individuals who were placed into socalled Marac (Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference) arrangements.

After being discharged, 33 of those were placed back into the arrangements – a repeat rate of 11.3 per cent, well down on the national target of 25 per cent or one in four.

Individuals who have been subject to domestic violence are referred into the care of a Marac, which brings the likes of the police, social services, probation, drugs and alcohol agencies and housing companies together.

A plan is then drawn up with a list of actions for each organisation to follow, which is aimed at providing support to the victim and reducing their risk of being abused again.

Councillor Bill Dixon, vicechairman of the Darlington Community Safety Partnership and leader of the borough council, said: “Significant results are being achieved in what is a notoriously a very difficult area.

“This really is life and death preventative work.

When we get it right, victims can live their lives without fear.

“When on the rare occasions it goes wrong, it can be the victims who pay the price.

“I would like this to be a heads-up to the public that we are taking domestic violence seriously. Please keep reporting these crimes because they will be taken seriously and victims will receive the support they need.”

Rachel Green, Durham Police’s domestic violence coordinator, said: “The relevant agencies involved in these arrangements are working well together.

“We have had better participation from partner agencies and an increased number of them making referrals, although the majority are still police referrals.

“The people who are in the Marac arrangements are at risk of significant harm, possibly death.”

Research shows that domestic violence is a pre-cursor to the majority of murders in the UK each year in which men kill partners or ex-partners.