Domestic homicide reviews

DHR is an acronym for Domestic Homicide Reviews. They were put into place under the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 and the specific DHR provision came into force in April 2011. The name of the reviews has recently changed following the Victim and Prisoners Act in 2024 to Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews (DARDR) which is discussed in further detail below.

This legislation states that “a DHR is a review of the circumstances in which the death of a person aged 16 or over has, or appears to have, resulted from violence, abuse or neglect by a person to whom he was related or with whom he was or had been in an intimate personal relationship, or a member of the same household as himself, held with a view to identifying the lessons to be learnt from the death”.

The legislation also states that “Where a victim took their own life (suicide) and the circumstances give rise to concern, for example it emerges that there was coercive controlling behaviour in the relationship, a review should be undertaken, even if a suspect is not charged with an offence or they are tried and acquitted. Reviews are not about who is culpable”.

DHRs can be commissioned where a death is linked to domestic abuse, either because of homicide, a victim taking their own life or in circumstances that are unexplained but give rise to concern. As the nature of deaths which fall within the scope of a DHR are not exclusively homicides, the term ‘homicide’ in a DHR can be confusing for families after their loved one has died by suicide linked to domestic abuse. The term ‘homicide’ is also not applicable when conducting a review into deaths ruled as ‘unexplained’ or ‘unexpected’ by a Coroner.

To address these shortcomings in existing DHR legislation, the government held a public consultation inviting views on amending the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. The consultation proposed renaming DHRs to ‘domestic abuse related death reviews’ which was accepted. We are awaiting new guidance which will address the following:

• The inclusion of guidance and information for reviews that cover where a victim has died by suicide, neglect or in unexplained circumstances;
• Details on how and when perpetrator engagement should be conducted;
• Details on how to ensure a DARDR uses a trauma-informed approach;
• Details on how to ensure the DARDR takes a victim-centred approach;
• An outline of the role and responsibilities for the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Police and Crime Commissioners;
• The introduction of a new ‘Scoping Review’ process to ensure all potential DARDRs are progressed; and
• The inclusion of a ‘DARDR Toolkit’, which includes templates to support those completing DHRs.

Due to these legislative changes, the Hertfordshire DARDR Protocol is also likely to change to reflect the new Home Office Guidance, but it is unknown when this will be finalised by the Home Office.

Domestic homicide reports