July 01, 2025 | Organisational Information and Performance , Procedures
Request Number: FOI/14636
Category: Policing Themes, Operations and Investigations Policing Other
Subject: Domestic Violence Services
Request and Answer:
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland does hold information to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.
Request
Can you confirm what method of data capture you have on recording referrals made to services for victims of domestic violence by PSNI officers?
Answer
PSNI's Contact Management Support Unit (CMSU) no longer input DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour Based Violence Assessment) information. This responsibility now lies with the attending officer, who must enter all relevant details directly into the appropriate police systems as soon as reasonably practicable, following attendance at the call of service. This is following access improvements in how police record PPN/DASH information making this accessible for all first responders attending domestic abuse calls for service.
Any referrals to external agencies (such as Assist NI, Women's Aid & Men's Advisory Project) must be initiated by the attending officer/supervising officer, following consultation with the victim(s) regarding their wishes.
Social services referrals are made following any Domestic Abuse related call for service where there are children linked to either party (and whether they have witnessed the incident or not) as part of the safeguarding procedures.
At present, the only referral automatically generated by CMSU is for Victim Support, which is initiated by default unless the victim actively opts out.