Vulnerable women need far better protection from the threat of domestic abuse

Editorial: Figures show police rejected 10,000 requests for background checks on potential abusers during a six-month period. A truly shocking number given that such information could save lives

This new year needs to be one of action to ensure that victims and potential victims get the protection they need (PA)

Our report today that thousands of vulnerable women are being left at risk of harm thanks to police forces across the country failing to hand over information on potential domestic abusers would be shocking enough on its own. Unfortunately, it is merely the latest shameful example of inadequate protections being offered to those who need them the most.

Data seen by The Independent shows that more than half of 20,000 requests for background checks on potential domestic abusers were rejected in the space of six months, with campaigners saying it leaves women facing a postcode lottery for answers as calls grow for an urgent review of the disclosure scheme, known as Clare’s Law. The scheme is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered in 2009 by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton – a man who had a history of violence of which Wood was unaware.

In October, we revealed that police are missing crucial opportunities to protect hundreds of thousands of victims of domestic abuse, by failing to impose emergency restraining orders on their alleged attackers. Figures showed that just over 1 per cent of those who complained of abuse were given a domestic violence protection order (DVPO). That amounts to 10,489 orders, despite more than 800,000 police reports.

In September, we reported that three-quarters of police officers and staff accused of violence against women are not suspended by their force, despite the allegations against them. Data for the report was taken from 26 police forces in a joint investigation with the domestic abuse charity Refuge.

The picture that emerges is of a system that is not fit for purpose, in which change is desperately needed. As we enter a new year – an election year – it is up to all parties to face up to this reality and make sure that the nation’s vulnerable are protected.

Labour has already laid out some proposals to protect women, which it should sharpen and follow through on if Sir Keir Starmer makes it into Downing Street. As for the Conservatives, one of the party’s senior MPs, Robert Buckland, has called for the terms of a review to be agreed with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to ensure that legitimate requests made under Clare’s Law are not being dismissed. That is a sound first step, and should be implemented quickly.

Looking at the wider picture, it is clear that our justice system is creaking. Earlier this year we reported that an increasing number of trials, including some that relate to crimes involving rape and violence, have been delayed at the last minute because no judge can be found to hear them. Meanwhile, the backlog of cases at crown courts now sits at more than 64,000, according to data published in September.

The Conservatives will inevitably spend the coming year trying to talk themselves up as the party of law and order, but you cannot be tough on crime when the system designed to serve justice is dilapidated. From police action to the courts, vulnerable women – and the country at large – deserve far better.

This new year needs to be one of action to ensure that victims and potential victims are afforded the protection they need.