Crime

Huge investment to tackle domestic abuse perpetrators and protect victims

Published

6 months ago

July 28, 2025

A MAJOR government initiative will see £53 million invested over the next four years to directly target the most dangerous domestic abuse perpetrators across England and Wales, in a bid to reduce repeat offending and better protect women and children.

Announced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, the plan forms a key part of the Government’s wider “Plan for Change” and commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. The strategy focuses on shifting the burden of safety from victims to perpetrators by ramping up early interventions, disruption tactics, and long-term behavioural change.

Drive Project to expand nationwide

At the heart of the new measures is the expansion of the Drive Project, a specialist programme first piloted in 2016, which uses intensive case management to challenge and change the behaviour of high-risk abusers. Backed by a consortium of leading organisations – Respect, SafeLives, and Social Finance – the programme combines offender monitoring, protective orders, and substance misuse interventions, with parallel support for victims through Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs).

Results from the scheme show dramatic reductions in abuse: physical abuse down by 82%, sexual abuse by 88%, stalking by 75%, and controlling behaviour by 73%.

With the new funding, the project will expand to 15 additional areas by March 2026, with full national rollout planned thereafter.

Targeting predatory behaviour in public spaces

Alongside the domestic abuse investment, an additional £230,000 will be used to enhance Project Vigilant, a scheme that deploys plain-clothed officers in nightlife hotspots to detect and disrupt predatory behaviour. Operated by Thames Valley Police and others, the initiative also includes new tools such as sniffer dogs trained to detect date-rape drugs.

This dual approach – tackling offenders both in private settings and in the night-time economy – underscores the government’s broader shift to a suspect-focused policing model.

Victims at the centre

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, said the new focus aims to ensure victims are no longer responsible for managing the threat posed by abusers.

“We are going after perpetrators wherever they pose a threat – at home or on the street. Every penny we invest in holding offenders to account is a step toward a safer future for victims,” she said.

The announcement precedes the Civil Society Summit being held today (Thursday, July 17), where ministers will join panels alongside leading organisations including Women’s Aid and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to discuss long-term strategy.

Collaborative delivery

The Drive Project will be delivered in collaboration with police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners, and local domestic abuse services. Key interventions will include:

Use of protection orders and enforcement to disrupt abuse
Working with social services to protect children
Relocating perpetrators to prevent reoffending
Tackling drug and alcohol misuse
Long-term behavioural programmes
Continuous victim support

Kyla Kirkpatrick, Director of The Drive Partnership, welcomed the new funding, saying: “Victim-survivors consistently tell us they want those who harm them to be seen, stopped, and held to account. This investment allows us to do just that, in partnership with local services.”

The latest funding comes on top of nearly £20 million announced earlier this year to support victims of abuse, including £6 million earmarked for helplines.

A refreshed strategy on violence against women and girls is expected shortly, setting out further steps on prevention, early intervention, and system-wide transformation.

Crime

Two arrested after high-value shoplifting incident in Kilgetty

Published

6 hours ago

January 29, 2026

Tom Sinclair

TWO men have been arrested on suspicion of shoplifting following a rapid police response to a reported high-value theft at a supermarket in Kilgetty.

Dyfed-Powys Police said officers were called to the Co-op store at around 3.35pm on Wednesday (Jan 28), after a report that a large quantity of alcohol and other items had been stolen.

Using information provided by the caller, Roads Policing Unit officers worked closely with control room staff to identify a vehicle believed to be involved. Several patrol cars were deployed, and the vehicle was located a short time later travelling east.

Police said the safety of all those involved was treated as a priority, with specialist Tactical Pursuit and Containment (TPAC) advice obtained while officers maintained constant observation of the vehicle.

The car was brought to a safe stop on a back road approaching Hendy, involving three Roads Policing Unit vehicles. No injuries or damage were reported.

Following roadside checks, two men — aged 67 and 46 — were arrested on suspicion of theft from a shop.

Both remain in police custody while enquiries continue.

Police said the swift response helped prevent further offending and demonstrated the effectiveness of specialist roads policing officers acting on real-time intelligence.

Business

Eight-year prison sentence after vehicle stop uncovers drugs worth over £150,000

Published

7 hours ago

January 29, 2026

Court Reporter

A ROUTINE vehicle stop by roads policing officers has led to an eight-year prison sentence after more than £150,000 worth of illegal drugs were discovered in a car in Pembrokeshire.

On Friday, January 2, officers from the Roads Policing Unit stopped a grey Seat Ateca on Hoyland Road, Pembroke. The vehicle was being driven by 43-year-old Dean Evans.

During the stop, Evans told officers they would find “stuff” in the car. He and the vehicle were subsequently searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

A search of the boot uncovered a cardboard box containing a one-kilogram block of cocaine and ten half-kilogram packages of herbal cannabis. The street value of the drugs was estimated to be well in excess of £150,000.

Evans was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possession with intent to supply controlled drugs. He was later charged with possession with intent to supply Class A and Class B drugs.

The 43-year-old pleaded guilty at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, January 3.

On Thursday, January 28, Evans was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to eight years’ imprisonment for possession with intent to supply cocaine and cannabis.

DC Jones, from Dyfed-Powys Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, said: “Tackling the supply of illegal drugs is a priority for Dyfed-Powys Police, and the misery that illegal drugs bring to local communities will not be tolerated.

“We welcome the sentence passed to Dean Evans, given the large quantity of harmful drugs he was caught trafficking into Pembrokeshire.

“This sentence should serve as a stark warning to anyone tempted to become involved in the illegal drugs trade in Dyfed and Powys.”

Crime

Former soldier jailed for stalking police officer over past arrest

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2026

Court Reporter

Defendant tracked down officer’s home address and sent threatening messages

A FORMER serviceman has been sent to prison after tracking down and harassing a police officer who had arrested him two years earlier.

Gareth Nicholas, aged 41, from Waunarlwydd in Swansea, targeted the officer by discovering his home address and sending a threatening message via Facebook, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The officer had been part of a police team that executed a Scottish arrest warrant at Nicholas’s home in May 2023. Two years later, in August 2025, the officer received an unexpected friend request on social media, followed shortly afterwards by a message that immediately caused concern.

The message began with the words “I found you” and accused the officer of unlawfully entering Nicholas’s property, assaulting him while he was in his underwear, and “abducting” him. Nicholas also claimed he had identified a pattern of corrupt behaviour within the police and issued a veiled threat, stating: “I will catch you down the Liberty son. Look forward to it,” a reference to Swansea City’s former stadium.

The situation escalated further days later when a handwritten letter was delivered to the officer’s former address. The new occupant contacted the officer to alert him to the letter, which repeated allegations of corruption and suggested the matter could be dropped if the officer assisted in exposing alleged police misconduct.

Nicholas was arrested on September 3 and admitted sending the communications, but denied at the time that his actions amounted to stalking.

In evidence, the officer told the court that while he had faced verbal abuse during his policing career, this incident felt different and deeply personal. He said his family installed CCTV cameras, security lighting and fencing, and put safety plans in place for their children. He added that he feared Nicholas had not let go of his perceived injustice and remained concerned the behaviour could continue.

The court heard Nicholas has a substantial criminal record in Scotland between 2019 and 2024, including convictions for stalking, malicious communications, threatening behaviour, domestic abuse offences and possession of ammunition without a licence.

Sentencing Nicholas, Judge Huw Rees acknowledged the trauma the defendant had experienced during military service, but warned him not to repeat the behaviour.

Nicholas, who appeared unrepresented, pleaded guilty to stalking and was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison, reduced by 20 per cent for his early guilty plea. Having already served time on remand, his release is expected shortly. He was also made subject to a five-year restraining order banning any contact with the officer.