The HFDVF was established in December 1989 in West London. The impetus for its establishment initially had as much to do with police accountability as with domestic violence. Informal meetings in 1989 brought together women from the Women's Aid refuges, the local Law Centre, and the Council's Community Safety Unit. They discussed recent domestic violence initiatives by the Metropolitan Police. Officers in the force's first Domestic Violence Unit in North London had organized and were servicing a multi-agency group. The preference in Hammersmith and Fulham was that any such local grouping not be led by police. The HFDVF, however, as it developed its organizational plan, included participants from the local authority and the police. It was restructured to become a subcommittee of the borough's Community Safety Board. The HFDVF's principal functions have been to stimulate policy and practice improvements and to address gaps in service provision that are more effectively done cooperatively. The HFDVF has proven to be one of the most enduring and productive domestic violence multi-agency groups in Great Britain. Factors that have contributed to this have been the presence of a strong Women's Aid group, specialist units within the local authority and the police, being aware of opportunities for institutional change, attention to the process of inter-agency working, a positive attitude, and maximizing the use of available resources. 11 notes and 16 references