Freedom of information response

The MARAC process is focussed on victims who are identified as at high risk of serious harm or death due to domestic abuse. Southend, Essex and Thurrock have adopted the high risk threshold that is supported by the use of the standardised risk identification checklist ‘Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment and Honour Based Violence (DASH, 2009) Risk Identification and Assessment and Management Model

1) Therefore, please can you advise how cases where children/families categorised as at "standard risk" or "medium risk" are handled by the MARAC?

Cases where children/ families are categorised as standard or medium risk are not heard at MARAC due to the threshold being set at high risk of harm. Please refer to MARAC operating protocol doc attached.

2) In cases where children/families are categorised as at "standard risk", does a MARAC conference still take place?

As mentioned in the answer above, MARAC is for cases where the risk is assessed as high risk.

3) What guidance/social work tool is used by professionals in MARAC when the primary safeguarding concern is coercive control?

Below is an extract from the Safelives website highlighting the conference is where cases are discussed and information is shared to increase safeguarding. Each case is managed individually depending on the information shared and risks identified, all meetings follow the same structure that is set out by MARAC and all attending partners work within this structure.

A Marac is a regular local meeting to discuss how to help victims at high risk of murder or serious harm. A domestic abuse specialist (Idva), police, children’s social services, health and other relevant agencies all sit around the same table. They talk about the victim, the family and perpetrator, and share information. The meeting is confidential.

Together, the meeting writes an action plan for each victim. They work best when everyone involved understands their roles and the right processes to follow. We call these meetings Maracs, but they are also referred to as a multi-agency risk assessment conference. – Extract from Safelives.org.uk

4) Are all PP57s received from Essex Police screened and assessed for the need for the children/family concerned to be discussed at MARAC?

The assessment of the level of risk for each case will determine whether or not a case will be heard at MARAC. All PP57s that are assessed as having high risk domestic abuse incidents or factors would result in the case being heard at MARAC.

Medium Risk: There are identifiable indicators of risk of serious harm. The offender has the potential to cause serious harm but is unlikely to do so unless there is a change in circumstances, for example, failure to take medication, loss of accommodation, relationship breakdown, and drug or alcohol misuse.