Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes: Problems with Policy, Regulation and Legality

Description

This book draws on empirical work to examine the debates surrounding domestic violence disclosure schemes (also known as Clare's Law), focussing on England and Wales with comparisons to similar jurisdictions. Clare's Law allows any member of the public the right to ask the police if their partner may pose a risk to them. This book sets out a coherent methodology for analysing these schemes which are growing in popularity. It discusses their pros and cons and the challenges with operating and regulating them. It ultimately seeks to examine whether the disclosure of information concerning the criminal history of one person to that person's intimate partner will ultimately increase the likelihood of keeping their partner safe. It speaks to academics working in the domestic violence / regulation/ criminal justice/ criminology fields as well as by policy makers in front line services and government agencies. Foreword Preface About the Book Contents About the Author Abbreviations List of Tables 1: Introduction 1.1 The Original Domestic Abuse Disclosure Scheme 1.2 Research Questions and Methods 1.3 The Nature of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme 1.4 Building a Picture of the Original Disclosure Scheme in England and Wales 1.5 Conclusion References 2: Victim Vulnerability, Risk Prediction and Victim Blaming 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Problem of Domestic Violence in England and Wales 2.3 Exploring ‘Victim Vulnerability’ 2.4 The Vulnerabilities of Minorities and of Children Disclosure Schemes and LGBTQ Relationships Ethnic and Cultural Minorities Disclosures Affecting Children 2.5 The Poor Policy Monitoring of the DVDS 2.6 Problems with the Prediction of the Risk of Domestic Violence 2.7 Suggestions from Reported Cases That the DVDS Is ‘Victim-Blaming’ 2.8 Conclusions References 3: Policy Origins of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Policy Considerations in Developing the Scheme: From Pilot to National Roll-out 3.3 The Press and the Scheme 3.4 The Issue of Costs of the DVDS 3.5 An Institutional Account for the Spread of DADS Policies 3.6 The Relevance of the ‘Right to Rehabilitation’ 3.7 Conclusions References 4: A ‘Policy Spiral’ in Common Law Jurisdictions 4.1 Introduction 4.2 The Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse (Scotland) 4.3 The Domestic Violence and Abuse Disclosure Scheme in Northern Ireland 4.4 The Family Violence Information Disclosure Scheme in New Zealand 4.5 The Fragmented Approach Between States in Australia New South Wales South Australia Victoria Western Australia Queensland 4.6 ‘Clare’s Law’ in Canada Saskatchewan Alberta Newfoundland and Labrador 4.7 Conclusions References 5: The Effectiveness of Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Evidence Published by Regulators as to the Operation of the Scheme 5.3 Evidence of Force-Level Self-evaluation of the Scheme Conducted by Forces Themselves FOI Requests About DVDS Self-evaluation Surveys by Forces of Disclosure Recipients’ Perception of the DVDS The Cleveland Constabulary Case Study The Metropolitan Police Case Study 5.4 The DVDS in a Domestic Homicide Review in Norfolk 5.5 An FOI Request About ‘Early-wave’ Recipients 5.6 Conclusions References 6: Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes in a Complex ‘Regulatory Space’ 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Disclosure Schemes as ‘Regulatory Spaces’ 6.3 The Regulation of the DVDS in England and Wales 6.4 The Regulation of Victim Self-regulation 6.5 Nine Regulatory Problems Concerning the Operation of DADS in the UK Regulatory Problems at the Micro-Level of the DADS Regulatory Problems at the Meso-Level of the DADS Regulatory Problems at the Macro-Level of the DADS 6.6 Conclusions References 7: The Governance and Legalities of Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes 7.1 Introduction 7.2 The Common Law Basis of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme 7.3 Disclosure Standards in the Three UK Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes Human Rights Standards in Protecting the Rights of Victims of Domestic Violence Article 2 ECHR and the Right to Life Article 3 ECHR and Article 8 ECHR The Subject’s Right to be Consulted Updating the Disclosure Standards in the Current UK DADS Guidance 7.4 Disclosing Older Convictions 7.5 International Legal Standards and Victims of Domestic Violence and Their Children The Istanbul Convention The ‘Best Interests of the Child’ 7.6 Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes 7.7 Conclusions References 8: Reflections, Conclusions and Recommendations 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Recent Policy Options on the DVDS 8.3 A Summary of the Findings in This Book Regulatory Responsibility Victim Vulnerability Coherent Legality 8.4 A Summary of Regulatory Problems Contributing to the ‘Policy Spiral’ of DADS Regulatory Problems at the Micro-Level of the DADS Regulatory Problems at the Meso-Level of the DADS Regulatory Problems at the Macro-Level of the DADS 8.5 Recommendations for Re-drafting the (Now Statutory) DVDS Guidance 8.6 Concluding Comments References Index