Devon and Cornwall Police has acknowledged its process for carrying out secondary reviews of domestic abuse reports was previously inconsistent after a police watchdog raised concerns that around 8,000 Public Protection Notices (PPNs) submitted between October and December 2025, had not received a specialist secondary review.

In a recent Freedom of Information response, the force said it recognises the need to improve its process for the secondary risk assessment of Public Protection Notices (PPNs).

It said that while all domestic abuse PPNs have always received an initial risk assessment by attending officers, with supervisory oversight, the consistency of secondary reviews had previously varied.

To address this, the force said additional resources have been introduced within its Central Safeguarding Team.

It said the dedicated team now provides a more "accountable and consistent secondary review process".

A new recording and performance framework has also been introduced to improve oversight of review volumes, outcomes, and cases that have not yet been subject to secondary review.

The force said it is also developing technology to support the prioritisation of PPNs, allowing secondary reviews to be carried out more effectively.

The 8,000 PPNs referenced in the HMICFRS report had received an initial risk assessment and a policing response at the time they were submitted. The force said it intends to apply a technological assessment to those who have still not received a secondary risk assessment.

Where information indicates a high-risk classification, the force said cases will be subject to appropriate safeguarding activity and referrals.

According to the FOI response, up to June 4 2026, all identified high-risk cases and repeat cases requiring referral to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) had received a secondary risk assessment and were being processed within 24 hours.

The force said it continues to prioritise outstanding cases based on their assessed risk level.

It did not provide a figure for how many medium and low risk PPNs remained awaiting specialist review.