New service allows residents to report domestic violence 24 hours a day

Merlin has launched a new out-of-hours service to allow residents to report domestic violence concerns any time.

Two women are killed by their current or former partners every week in the UK and one in four women will be a victim of domestic violence at some point in their lives. But only a third of victims report the crime.

Now to coincide with International Women’s Day Merlin Housing Society has launched a new service for residents to allow them to report domestic violence at any time of the day. Calls during office hours can be made to one of Merlin’s three area offices. Calls outside of office hours can be made to Merlin’s existing repairs line number, 0800 953 0340, where a specialist operator will be on hand to help. All out-of-hours calls to the service will be treated confidentially and call-handlers will be able to provide advice and take details from the caller.

Merlin is working with local telephone handling specialists, Office Response, to provide the 24 hour telephone service. All the information they gather will be passed onto one of Merlin’s anti-social behaviour officers the next working day.

As well as reporting domestic violence callers will be able to report anti-social behaviour and hate crimes.

Service Delivery Manager Sonia Key said: “We’ve launched this service to give people the chance to report domestic violence, anti-social behaviour and hate crime incidents whenever they want. Although we will not be able to respond there and then, all the details will be passed on the next day to one of our specialist anti-social behaviour officers.

“If someone feels that they are in immediate danger they should dial 999. This service is about giving residents the support that they need and the knowledge that if they have any concerns they can contact us any time, day or night.”

Steve West, Marketing & Business Development Manager with Office Response explains. “We work closely with a number of local authorities and housing associations by providing someone on the end of the phone with specialist skills to handle these types of calls.

“If you are feeling vulnerable and scared it’s important to know that you can speak to someone who you can trust and deal with the matter confidentially. In a lot of situations making that first call is a real positive step in resolving the matter”.