A pilot pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a combined deterrence message and audio-recording enabled domestic abuse alarm intervention

Abstract Accounts of technological advances in the area of domestic abuse have tended to focus on their role in facilitating abuse with less attention paid to how technology can be used to protect victims and deter potential abusers. Where these technologies are deterrent in nature, perpetrators must be made aware of their presence and potential. This study describes a pilot pragmatic randomised controlled trial (n = 118 dyads) in a police force in England to examine how a combined offer of audio-recording enabled domestic abuse alarms (AREDAA) and police-led deterrence messaging affected breaches of domestic abuse protection orders. Victim-abuser dyads were successfully randomised at court in 85% of cases and the deterrence message was delivered to the intervention group in 83% of cases, half of which were in court and half of which were via telephone or post. All eligible victims were offered the alarm by a police domestic abuse liaison officer, but fewer than 10% accepted. No statistically significant difference was observed in rates of order breach or domestic abuse crimes across conditions. Randomisation and delivery of deterrence messaging by police in court combined with the offer of an AREDAA alarm to victims was determined to be feasible, but intervention fidelity was dependent on perpetrator attendance at court and victim support for domestic violence protection orders, both of which were low.