Domestic Abuse Policy

A MARAC is a meeting where information is shared about the highest risk domestic abuse cases between representatives of local police, probation, health, child protection,  housing practitioners, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and other specialists from the statutory and voluntary sectors. After sharing all relevant information they have about a victims and survivors, the representatives discuss options for increasing the safety of the victims and survivors and turn these into a co-ordinated action plan.

The primary focus of the MARAC is to safeguard the adult victims and survivors. At the heart of a MARAC is the working assumption that no single agency or individual can see the complete picture of the life of a victim or survivor, but all may have insights that are crucial to their safety. The victim or survivor does not attend the meeting but is normally represented by an IDVA who speaks on their behalf. MARAC is attended weekly by the Partnership and Inclusion Coordinator based within our Neighbourhood Relations Team. Actions are then fed back to officers within the service and actioned appropriately.

MATAC - Multi-agency Tasking and Coordination

MATAC is a meeting, led by the police, along with key partners, which shares information about perpetrators of domestic abuse and plans a bespoke set of interventions to target and disrupt serial perpetrators and/or support them to address their behaviour. The core objective of MATAC is to ensure that agencies work in partnership to engage serial domestic abuse perpetrators in support, take enforcement action where required, and protect vulnerable and intimidated victims and survivors (College of Policing, 2024).

A multi-agency process that will potentially reduce the risk of harm and/or re-offending, ensure the safety of those who are at risk or suffer abuse in their daily lives, and respond to perpetrators in a way that minimises such risks, while also ensuring choice, dignity, and the rights of all are preserved. MATAC is attended monthly by a single point of contact (SPOC) in the Neighbourhood Relations team within housing. Actions are again fed back to officers to action within the neighbourhood relations team.

ASSET - Adult Service Support and Engagement Team

The ASSET team focus their attention on proactively promoting wellbeing and independence, helping individuals take greater control over their lives, by championing an early intervention model which allows them to access other agencies and provides them with the tools to be both physically and mentally healthy (gateshead.gov.uk, 2024). ASSET combines direct resources from Northumbria Police and Adult Social Care, facilitating a multi-agency approach to improving the response to adult concerns relating to vulnerable adults, including where they do not meet the safeguarding threshold under the Care Act 2014. ASSET brings together key partners, including housing, to help forge stronger links with other agencies, facilitating sharing quickly and effectively and enabling better informed decisions to be made by social care and partner agencies to act to protect vulnerable adults.