Evaluation of the CARA (CAutioning and Relationship Abuse) service

Background

Domestic abuse is a significant public health and criminal justice issue in the UK with the police often being the first agency of contact.

Project CARA is an awareness raising programme that promotes behavioural change for individuals who are alleged first time domestic abuse offenders. This intervention offers an early intervention pathway for low-risk, first-time adult perpetrators via conditional caution and is comprised of two workshops. The Hampton Trust facilitates the workshops, and the project is currently operating in Hampshire, West Midlands, Avon & Somerset, Dorset, Thames Valley, Leicestershire, West Yorkshire, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire.

Our approach

A mixed method evaluation of the programme in Hampshire and the West Midlands assessed the implementation of CARA, the impact on reoffending and re-arrests, and its economic impact to inform future strategy and commissioning. The evaluation involved three key components as follows:

1. Theory of Change developed within the framework of conditional cautioning through stakeholder consultation, document review, and logic modelling to clarify how CARA is expected to reduce reoffending and to promote rehabilitation through reflective workshops. Some of the identified effective ways of promoting behavioural change are the cycle of change model, cognitive dissonance, and the relational approach.

2. Impact Evaluation

An impact evaluation to assess the effects of the CARA intervention on first-time domestic violence offender recidivism in West Midlands and Hampshire police force areas using a quais-experimental design. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique was used to compare outcomes between CARA participants and a matched control group using police data from the two forces. The evaluation used police data from West Midlands and Hampshire, comparing CARA participants to matched controls.

3. Key findings:

• Overall, the evidence demonstrates that CARA has a significant effect on recidivism.
• In West Midlands, the CARA group was associated with a reduction in offences by 81% in the first six months and a 65% reduction after 12 months.
• In Hampshire, the CARA group was associated with a reduction in offences by 39% in the first six months and a 41% reduction after 12 months.

4. Economic Benefits Study

This suggest that the CARA Service has a significant impact on recidivism.

For West Midlands, the net benefit of the CARA Service would be £152,775.94 for a period of six months and £156,581 annually. The benefit-cost ratio is equal to 2.75, meaning that for each pound invested in CARA the benefit is 2.75 pounds.

For Hampshire, the net benefit is estimated to be £596,066 for the first six months and £780,864.40 annually. The benefit-cost ratio is equal to 11.10, meaning that for each pound invested in CARA project the benefit is 11.10 pounds.

Conclusion

• The Theory of Change (ToC) suggests that CARA has the potential to promote change in the offenders’ abusive behaviours.
• The impact evaluation and the economic benefits study suggest that the CARA Service has a significant impact on recidivism and also has significant cost savings.