Hertfordshire women 'suffer 1,000 violent incidents a month'

Herts Chief Constable Charlie Hall admitted the figure was “far too big” in the first accountability and performance meeting with the new Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards.

It follows the murder of Carol Hunt, 61, and her two daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28, in Bushey on July 9, which sparked calls for more measures to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG).

(Left) Hannah Hunt, (right) Louise Hunt. Inset: John and Carol Hunt pictured in 2015. (Image: Facebook/Hannah Hunt, Louise Hunt, Carol Hunt) During the meeting last week, Chief Constable Hall said the force saw “in the region of 1,000 offences” reported per month and conceded it was a “big number”.

“It’s far too big for what we would wish to see,” he added. “If we could track that over five years, it has reduced slightly. Still got a long way to go. The figure within that is not quite as significant as it was, but 1,000 is still a lot.”

PCC Mr Ash-Edwards called the figures “horrendous” and said he will “keep a close eye” on the force’s efforts to reduce incident numbers and increase charge rates.

Chief Constable Charlie Hall with Herts PCC Jonathan Ash-Edwards. (Image: Hertfordshire Police) Mr Hall said that police always encourage victims to take the perpetrators to court, although they continue providing safeguarding measures if they choose not to.

He admitted it was “nowhere near sufficient” that just five per cent of suspects are taken to court for VAWG, adding: “I want to try and lift them but there’s a whole complex set of reasons behind why that can be challenging and difficult to get those cases before a court.”

The chief constable encouraged any victims to speak to police even if they do not wish to go to court themselves, as he said it can help officers to build a case against perpetrators who “move from one victim to another”.

Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth called violence against women a national emergency. (Image: College of Policing) The figures come after the deputy chief executive of the College of Policing branded violence against women a “national emergency” with 3,000 incidents reported in the UK every day. 

Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: “We are absolutely determined to turn the tide on violence and abuse faced by women and girls and will continue to work tirelessly to do better for victims.”

Although Chief Constable Hall said the figures for Hertfordshire have “reduced slightly” in recent years, the national picture has seen VAWG crime increase by 37 per cent between 2018 and 2023, making up 20 per cent of all recorded crime in 2022/23.