Clare's Law abuse disclosures made

Written By Unknown on Senin, 26 Januari 2015 | 16.50

26 January 2015 Last updated at 05:27

A scheme allowing people to find out if their partner has a history of domestic violence has been used more than 1,300 times in less than a year.

Clare's Law - named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009 - came into force across England and Wales in March 2014.

At least 1,335 disclosures have been made so far, police figures obtained by the Press Association show.

Miss Wood's father said he was "quietly delighted" the law was being used.

The figures, released following Freedom of Information requests, show there have been at least 3,760 applications under the law so far - resulting in the 1,335 disclosures. The true totals are likely to be higher, as three police forces did not release their statistics.

The figures include both "right to ask" cases - where information was requested - and "right to know" - where police warn potential victims without being asked to do so.

'Going to snowball'

Miss Wood was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton at her home in Salford, Greater Manchester. Appleton had a history of domestic violence - but Miss Wood, 36, was unaware of it.

Her father, Michael Brown, said he thought the use of Clare's Law so far was the "tip of the iceberg".

"All these people know about Clare's Law, they're going to tell another five, another dozen, and next year this is going to snowball," he said.

The police figures show variation between forces in terms of the likelihood of requests being granted.

More than 60% of requests in Greater Manchester led to information being released, compared with 11% in Merseyside.

Hazel Blears, Labour MP for Salford and Eccles, said this suggested the law was being "applied in different ways".

"I will be writing to the home secretary to ask what is being done to review its use and ensure best practice is shared across the country and the right decisions are made," she said.

Ms Blears said the scheme had been of "great assistance" to those who had obtained information, empowering them to make a "potentially life-changing - or even life-saving - decision to end a relationship".

'Clearly concerned'

Under Clare's Law, otherwise known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, men and women can request information about their partner, or third parties such as friends or relatives can make requests if they are "concerned".

Police and other agencies including social services then consider whether releasing information on someone's past is "necessary, lawful and proportionate" to protect someone from their partner.

Reasons for information not being released include a partner not having a record of abuse offences, or there being no "pressing need for disclosure" based on the information found.

Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Women's Aid, said: "Any woman asking for a disclosure under Clare's Law is clearly already concerned about her relationship, and should be referred to a specialist service so she can get support with her concerns, even if no disclosure can be made."

Clare's Law does not apply in Northern Ireland, while a pilot scheme is being run in Scotland.


Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Clare's Law abuse disclosures made

Dengan url

http://gayabugarsehat.blogspot.com/2015/01/clares-law-abuse-disclosures-made.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Clare's Law abuse disclosures made

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Clare's Law abuse disclosures made

sebagai sumbernya

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar

techieblogger.com Techie Blogger Techie Blogger