In Phase One, the service operated from Monday to Thursday but it has now been expanded.

An initiative ensuring domestic violence victims get the expert support they need when calling West Midlands Police has been increased.

West Midlands Police said Raneem’s Law, which will see independent domestic abuse specialists embedded into 999 control rooms, is now being operated seven days a week.

In Phase One, the service operated from Monday to Thursday but it has now been expanded.

Bosses said charity and voluntary organisations had faced ‘challenges’ staffing around the clock but this was being supplemented by trained police staff.

At a West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner accountability and governance board meeting, Victims Advocate Natalie Queiroz asked how the expansion of Raneem’s Law been embedded into the force’s work.

Chief Superintendent Tony Hawkins said: “The expansion in phase one was on Monday to Thursdays. We’re now on to seven days a week so days and late cover.

“It’s fair to say there are some challenges with charities being able to get some people in to do lates and weekends because their contracts are normally Monday to Friday, 8-4pm.

“We’re working with those charities to ensure we’ve got that but we’re using our own staff that have been through the SafeLives programme to make sure we’ve got that cover and we’re delivering that service.

“I’m really happy we’re seeing that. We listen to calls, look at the gradings ensuring we’ve got that risk appropriately.

“If the staff are finding the risk hasn’t been quite right or graded correctly, the feedback is going to those individual staff members and supervisors to look at those themes and trends as to what was missed.

“The manager for the vulnerability desk is speaking to every new cohort because we have quite a number of new people joining us in call handling so she goes into that training session for all of those cohorts to talk about the importance of what that work is.”

Raneem’s Law was introduced in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother, Khaola Saleem, who were tragically murdered by Raneem’s ex-partner in 2018.

The law aims to transform the emergency response to domestic violence by placing specialist advisers directly alongside police call handlers to improve risk assessments and accelerate early interventions.

West Midlands Police took part in an initial pilot phase between March 2025 and March 2026, dedicated specialists from Coventry Haven Women’s Aid and Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid reviewed almost 5,000 domestic abuse-related calls.