$680,000 boost for Christchurch family violence pilot

More frontline services and extra places in perpetrator programmes are on the way for the multi-agency Integrated Safety Response pilot, following an additional injection of funding, Ministers have announced.

An extra $680,000 will allow the Christchurch ISR pilot to continue its work to combat family and sexual violence.

“The ISR pilot takes a whole-of-family approach to stop family violence by identifying risks and intervening earlier,” Ms Adams says.

“This funding boost will help support more frontline services, such as independent victim specialists and advocates to work with families, and create extra places in programmes to help perpetrators change their behaviour.”

“The pilot brings together all the agencies and NGOs around the one table, and is a key part of Government’s plan to change the way agencies respond to family violence,” Mrs Tolley says.

“The pilot, which has been running in Christchurch since July 2016, is making a difference to agencies and the families they are working with. The ISR team reviews all family violence episodes attended by NZ Police and high-risk prison releases in Christchurch on a daily basis.”

The $680,000 increase comes from the Justice Sector Fund, a cross-agency funding pool which allows money saved in one justice sector agency to be invested in another.

Efforts to reduce family violence will be supported by the 1125 extra police staff that Prime Minister Bill English announced last week as part of the Government’s $503 million Safer Communities package.

The ISR pilot is a key initiative developed by the Ministerial Group on Family and Sexual Violence Work Programme which is committed to reducing family violence and keeping victims safe.

About the Integrated Response Pilot:

The Integrated Safety Response pilot brings together a team of Police, CYF, Corrections, Health, specialist family violence NGOs and Māori service providers to support victims and their families. It aims to better support family violence victims by improving safety and stopping family violence escalating by identifying risks and intervening earlier. It has been operating in Christchurch since July 2016, and a second pilot running in Waikato since October 2016. More information at www.police.govt.nz/about-us/programmes-and-initiatives/integrated-safety-response-isr-pilot