Monday 25 November 2013

Domestic Violence Protection Order Pilot Scheme

Today sees the launch of the findings of the evaluation of the Domestic Violence Protection Order pilot scheme. The DVPO is a new civil order that has been introduced in Manchester, Wiltshire and West Mercia. Under the terms of the order, a perpetrator of domestic violence can be excluded from the home for up to 28 days. It is used in situations where police would previously have not taken further action (beyond arrest, caution or bail) and where criminal charges are not being brought.

The evaluation was led by Professor Liz Kelly of London Metropolitan University and Professor Joanna R Adler, who is the director of Forensic Psychological Services at Middlesex University. Dr Miranda Horvath was the project manager and Dr Mark Coulson was the quantitative research lead. Key findings are that the DVPO does seem to reduce repeat call-outs to the police, so seems to be associated with a reduction in re-victimisation. This is particularly the case in more chronic cases, where the police had previously attended three or more times. The full report is available here

Today also sees the Home Secretary’s written statement to Parliament regarding the Domestic Violence Disclosures Scheme (Clare’s law) and the DVPO. Both Orders are to be rolled out nationally from March, 2014.



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