More than 4,000 emergency orders granted to protect domestic abuse victims

By The Press Association9th March 2016News EnglandDomestic Abuse / Violence, News England, Victim Support, Vulnerable Adults

More than 4,000 emergency orders have been issued to protect victims from suspected domestic abusers, new figures have revealed.

Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) were rolled out nationally in 2014 to give authorities powers to help relatives, partners or spouses when there is insufficient evidence to bring charges against perpetrators.

Under the scheme when police attend a domestic violence incident, a non-molestation and eviction notice can be served on suspected culprits immediately.

An application can then be made to magistrates for a DVPO to prevent the suspect from returning to the home and ban any contact with the victim for up to 28 days.

The aim of the initiative is to allow the victim “breathing space” to consider their options with the help of a supporting agency.

Data supplied by the 43 police forces in England and Wales and released in a Home Office analysis published on Tuesday showed that a total of 3,072 DVPOs had been granted by magistrates by the end of 2014.

Statistics for most forces started from the weeks after the official start date in March 2014 but for three they covered a longer period as they were in areas used in an original pilot scheme.

Figures from 17 forces showed that a further 1,384 orders were granted between January and July last year.

The Home Office report said: “This could indicate that use of DVPOs continues to be mainstreamed into the police response to domestic violence and abuse.”

Of the DVPOs issued to the end of 2014 some 565, or nearly one in five, were breached. This can result in the individual being committed to prison for up to two months or fined up to £5,000.

The Home Office said it will consider holding a public consultation on criminalising breaches, which are currently dealt with as a civil contempt of court.

New figures on the use of a scheme which allows police to disclose information about a partner’s previous violent offending have also been released.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme – known as “Clare’s law” after Clare Wood, who was murdered in 2009 by her ex-boyfriend – was rolled out in March 2014.

Figures supplied by forces showed that there had been a total of 4,724 applications by the end of 2014, with 1,938 disclosures made.

The scheme has two procedures for disclosing information: the right to ask, which is triggered by a member of the public applying for a disclosure, and the right to know, which is prompted when police receive “indirect information” and make a proactive decision to pass on information to protect a potential victim.

Meanwhile, the Government has pledged £80 million to protect women and girls from violence over the next four years as it published a new strategy on the issue.

Minister Karen Bradley said: “The Government is serious about stopping violence against women and girls and has made it a priority. No one should live in fear of these crimes.

“That is why we have increased funding to £80 million for the next four years.

“We are determined to stop women and girls from becoming victims in the first place, which means funding services which will provide support and intervene as early as possible to stop the cycle of abuse.”