By
Chris Greenwood
18:59 EST, 16 July 2012
|
20:00 EST, 16 July 2012
Women can now ask police to reveal whether their boyfriend has a secret past of violence and abuse under a controversial new initiative.
The scheme, known as Clare’s Law, enables officers and other agencies to warn women if they are at risk.
It was introduced because ministers fear the rise of dating and social networking websites has left many in the dark about their partner’s background.
History of violence: Clare, left, was murdered
by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton in 2009
Trials began yesterday in Gwent and
Wiltshire and will be expanded to Greater Manchester and Nottinghamshire
in September before the scheme is rolled out nationally.
Clare’s Law is named after Clare Wood, 36, who was strangled by a man she met on Facebook three years ago.
George Appleton killed Miss Wood, in Salford, and set her body on fire before hanging himself in a derelict pub.
Just 72 hours earlier he had been freed by police who dismissed him as a ‘quiet, mild mannered man’.
Her family later discovered he had
convictions for violence against women, including kidnapping one of his
ex-girlfriends at knifepoint.
Miss Wood’s father Michael Brown, of
Batley, West Yorkshire, has campaigned relentlessly for authorities to
do more to warn vulnerable women.
But critics, including domestic
violence charity Refuge, have warned that the initiative could waste
police resources. Others said malicious claims could be made.
The scheme is modelled on Sarah’s Law
– named after murdered schoolgirl Sarah Payne – which gives parents the
right to check on paedophiles in their area.It allows both women and
men to ask police whether a new or existing partner with whom they have
an ‘intimate’ relationship has a violent past.
Applications can also be made by any ‘concerned third party’.
The woman will then be invited to
meet with police, prove her identity and discuss her fears in more
detail before any decision is made.
Full disclosure, if any is made at
all, could take up to five weeks and will only take place after
discussions with staff working with prisons, probation and social
services.
The woman involved will be warned that disclosing the sensitive details to others could be a criminal offence.
Police will make an immediate risk
assessment after the initial inquiry and may even arrest the boyfriend
if he is accused of criminal offences.
Frontline staff in police forces
where the trials are taking place have been given basic training, while
specialist officers have undergone more in-depth support.
The Government will consider whether to introduce Clare’s Law nationally after the pilot schemes end in September next year.
In 2010, 94 women and 21 men were murdered by a partner, ex-partner or lover.
Gwent Chief Constable Carmel Napier,
who is the police spokesman on domestic violence, said: ‘The scheme is
intended to empower people to make informed decisions to protect
themselves and their children when getting involved with a new partner.’
‘It will also allow the police to act
in the best interests of people they believe could be at risk of
violence by sharing information of a partners’ violent past.’
Home Secretary Theresa May said:
‘Domestic violence is a dreadful crime which sees two women a week die
at the hands of their partners, and millions more suffer years of abuse
in their own homes.
‘We are constantly looking at new ways of protecting victims.’
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