POLICE in West Yorkshire have revealed details of people’s abusive past to their current partners on 21 occasions in less than a year, using legislation known as Clare’s Law.
The law was introduced less than a year ago, and named after Clare Wood, who was murdered in 2009 by a former boyfriend.
It has now emerged that the abusive pasts of more than 1,300 violent partners have been revealed nationally, with West Yorkshire Police taking that step on 21 occasions.
Statistics also show that courts in West Yorkshire have imposed domestic violence protection orders on 19 occasions, to help protect victims of abuse from future problems.
Nationally there werehave been 3,760 applications for information under Clare’s Law, with at least 1,335 disclosures.
West Yorkshire Police said information about the number of applications in this county was not available.
Clare’s Law was rolled out nationally in March last year, following a 14-month pilot in Gwent, Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire and Greater Manchester, while DVPOs were launched in the same month following a one-year pilot in West Mercia, Wiltshire and Greater Manchester.
The figures show a wide regional variation in the likelihood of a disclosure being made under Clare’s Law and MP Hazel Blears, who campaigned with Miss Wood’s father to introduce the scheme, said she would write to the Home Secretary to ask what is being done to ensure best practice.
Miss Wood’s father Michael Brown said he was “quietly delighted” the law is being used, but fears the already high figures are only the “tip of the iceberg”.
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