Domestic Homicide Reviews

What is a Domestic Homicide Review (DHR)?

DHRs were established on a statutory basis under section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act (2004). This provision came into force on 13 April 2011.

A DHR is a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a person to whom he was related or with whom he was or had been in an intimate personal relationship, or a member of the same household as himself, held with a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death. Intimate personal relationships include relationships between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This can also include suicide.

What is the purpose of conducting a DHR?

The purpose of conducting a DHR is to:

  • establish what lessons are to be learned from the domestic homicide, regarding the way in which local professionals and organisations work individually and together to safeguard victims.

  • identify clearly what those lessons are both within and between agencies, how and within what timescales they will be acted on, and what is expected to change as a result.

  • apply these lessons to service responses including changes to inform national and local policies and procedures as appropriate.

  • prevent domestic violence and homicide and improve service responses for all domestic violence and abuse victims and their children by developing a co-ordinated multi-agency approach to ensure that domestic abuse is identified and responded to effectively at the earliest opportunity;

  • contribute to a better understanding of the nature of domestic violence and abuse; and

  • highlight good practice

Domestic Homicide Reviews are not about who is culpable.

Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) are a statutory responsibility of Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) and are undertaken in accordance with the Home Office Multi-agency Statutory Guidance for the Conduct of Domestic Homicide Reviews (December 2016). Where the circumstances of the death meet the definition set out under section 9(1) of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, then a DHR should be undertaken.

What is a DHR Review Panel and which agencies are members of the Panel?

The CSP appoint an independent Chair who is responsible for managing and coordinating the review process and for producing the final overview report based on evidence the Review Panel decides its relevant. The Chair may also be the author of the Overview Report.

The Review Panel consists of representatives from the statutory agencies listed under section 9 of the 2004 Act and may include voluntary and community sector organisations.

The Panel will consider involving family, friends and others as they can have important information about the nature and extent of the abuse which may not have been shared with agencies.

The Panel identifies what lessons are to be drawn from the case and how those lessons should be translated into recommendations for action based on the key findings.

DHRs can be found in full and summarised versions below:

Home Office analysis which sets out what is known about domestic homicide and draws out common themes and trends and identifies learning that emerged across a sample of Domestic Homicide Reviews.