Domestic abuse screening tool doesn't work, minister says

The government’s main system for identifying victims of domestic abuse at greatest risk of serious harm is failing, according to Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips.

For more than a decade, police, healthcare workers, and social services have relied on the Dash questionnaire — a 27-question checklist covering domestic abuse, stalking, harassment, and honour-based violence — to decide which victims need urgent, specialist intervention. But mounting evidence suggests the tool is inconsistent and in some cases dangerously inaccurate.

Phillips told the BBC’s File on 4 programme she was reviewing the process:

“The Dash questionnaire has obvious flaws, but before I can replace it with something that does work, we must make the absolute best of the system we have. Risk is variable — it can change in 20 minutes — so no form will ever be perfect. Any system is only as good as the professional who uses it.”

Families seek justice

The concerns are not abstract. Families of women killed by abusive partners after being assessed as “low” or “medium risk” say they are preparing legal action against public agencies.

“These aren’t just numbers, they’re preventable tragedies,” lawyer Matthew Jury said. “When risks are inadequately assessed and victims are left exposed, families are devastated.”

Between March 2022 and March 2024, there were 108 domestic homicides in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics.

One case often cited is that of Raneem Oudeh and her aunt Khaola Saleem, murdered in 2018 after Raneem’s abuse risk was downgraded. “It became a tick-box exercise,” a family member told the BBC. “Young victims don’t always realise they are in dangerous relationships, and the questionnaire doesn’t capture that.”

Academic evidence mounts

Research from the London School of Economics, using Greater Manchester Police data, found nearly 9 in 10 repeat assaults had been classified only as “moderate” or “high risk” under Dash — failing to distinguish those in most immediate danger.

Other studies, including a 2022 analysis by Manchester and Seville universities, concluded that 96% of serious cases were misclassified.

Dr. Heather Strang, a criminology professor at Cambridge University, said:

“There’s growing agreement Dash doesn’t do the job at all. It was never designed to predict future violence, yet it has become the default tool.”

Police and charities divided

The College of Policing introduced a replacement tool, Dara, in 2021, but a BBC investigation found 20 out of 39 police forces are still using Dash. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said risk assessments should never be used “in isolation,” stressing the importance of officer judgement and training.

But frontline charities also raised alarm. Sistah Space, which supports Black women affected by domestic and sexual violence, said Dash fails to capture cultural and contextual risk factors.

“There are a lot of subtleties ignored,” said operations manager Djanomi Robinson. “We’ve had service users who weren’t flagged as high risk, yet any professional could see their situations were extremely serious.”

Ellen Miller of SafeLives, the charity that originally developed Dash, defended its accessibility but admitted it has not been updated in line with new evidence.

System overhaul underway

The Home Office is now reviewing domestic abuse risk assessments as part of its wider strategy on violence against women and girls, due this autumn. SafeLives has been asked to lead an initial review.

Phillips stressed that change will take time:

“People were killed even when they were deemed high risk. What matters is not just the score, but the systems that follow from it.”