Key research findings from a national evaluation of Project CARA (Cautioning and Relationship Abuse) were presented at Northumbria University in September, as part of a conference called ‘Turning that Ship Around’, which explored ways to improve outcomes for families involved with the justice system.
The CARA scheme was developed in 2011 as a conditional caution offered by police to adults involved in first time offences of domestic violence and abuse of low or medium risk – as a way of intervening and preventing further offending. It is delivered by the Hampton Trust.
Adults who are offered CARA undertake workshops that increase awareness of their abusive behaviour and the safety of partners and children. In contrast to restorative justice, CARA is an awareness-raising intervention, that utilises a trauma informed approach and motivational interviewing to address behaviours and make changes.
It supports offenders in understanding what domestic abuse is, the harm their actions have caused, the impact this has had on their partners, children and relationships, and how to make different choices going forward and prevent these harmful behaviours from becoming more entrenched.
The national evaluation of the CARA scheme began in 2022, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) National Priority Research Consortium for Health and Care Inequalities, hosted by the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria.
It aimed to assess the impact of Project CARA following its rollout across several police force areas in England.
The evaluation has been led by Dr Sara Morgan from the University of Southampton and ARC Wessex, supported by researchers from Northumbria, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds Beckett Universities. It also involved the Hampton Trust, Restorative Solutions and police forces from across the UK. The research included significant contributions from people with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse.
Research evidence outlining the benefits and considerations for police forces using the CRA conditional cautioning method, as well as victim perspectives, were shared at the conference, followed by a series of breakout discussions, and speakers focused on prevention, rehabilitation and recovery to address the cycle of reoffending.
Dame Vera Baird, former Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales and current chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, was among the conference speakers and told delegates of the importance of specific interventions such as CARA which involve long-term victim support.
Lydia Shrimpton, Senior Research Assistant and PhD candidate at Northumbria University, spoke at the conference on the victim-survivor perspectives of Project CARA. She shared findings from a longitudinal study, as part of the wider evaluation of Project CARA, involving interviews with victim-survivors whose partners or former partners had been referred to CARA following arrest for domestic violence or abuse. Lydia reflected on the victim-survivors’ sense of justice regarding their perspectives on whether the CARA workshops felt like an appropriate outcome for them as a result of police contact. She also spoke about the short-term and long-term changes observed by victim-survivors in their relationships with the perpetrators as a result of the CARA intervention.
The conference was co-convened by Northumbria University’s Dr Will McGovern and Rachel Wease, who advocates for women’s recovery. It was supported by colleagues linked to the NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, including Professor Ruth McGovern, Dr Hayley Alderson, Dr Steph Scott (Newcastle University) and Professor Monique Lhussier (Northumbria University).
It was also supported by Northumbria University’s Centre for Health and Social Equity (CHASE), Newcastle City Council Combatting Drugs Partnership and representatives of Northumbia University Gendered Violenceand Abuse Interdisciplinary Research Theme.
Dr McGovern, Associate Professor of Marginalised Communities at Northumbria University, explained: “Northumbria is committed to actively bringing people with lived experience together with practitioners, policy makers, academics and researchers at events like this conference. We were proud to hear Dame Vera Baird make reference to how impressed she was with the range and quality of speakers and that the wider focus of the conference that was concerned with support for families and children.”
Northumbria researchers, including Professor Vanessa Bettinson, supported the conference by speaking about their own research projects within the themes of domestic violence and abuse.
Professor Bettinson, a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow in Law at Northumbria University, led a workshop about the ‘Female Offending Caused by Coercive Control Project’ alongside researcher participants. Research has shown that the criminal justice system does not always recognise the victim status of many criminalised women whose experiences of domestic abuse played a role in their offending behaviour. This means women are denied the specialist domestic abuse support they need to survive the abuse, which is provided to women who are recognised as victims of coercive control.
Professor Bettinson’s research explores, through the lived experiences of the women research participants, who is looking for coercive control in the criminal justice system and what support the criminal justice system could provide to women whose crimes are caused by coercive control. During the conference workshop, delegates explored the journeys of the women in a series of pen portraits, leading to discussions about early identification of domestic abuse.
Throughout the conference, artists from More Than Minutes were on hand to capture ideas and discussion topics through visual art.
Speaking about the impact of sharing new knowledge at events such as the ‘Turning that Ship Around’ conference, Professor Joanne Atkinson, Pro Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing at Northumbria University said: “This conference is an example of how high-quality interdisciplinary research on the key issues of our age can help inform discussions on national policy. The fact that Northumbria researchers continue to play a key role in the national evaluation of Project CARA reflects the high quality of research being conducted at the University, and within the remit of our Centre for Health and Social Equity, demonstrating our commitment to making a real difference to people's lives.”
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