Domestic abusers to face tougher restrictions

Domestic abusers will face tougher restrictions from today with the launch of new court orders to keep them away from their victims. The new domestic abuse protection notices and orders (DAPNs and DAPOs), legislated for by the previous government in 2021, are set to be trialled in parts of England and Wales before being rolled out across the country.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said the new orders can be imposed by any court and bring together powers in other protective orders to provide "flexible and long-term protection" for victims of domestic abuse. They are intended to cover all forms of domestic abuse and, unlike some orders that only last for 28 days, will have no time restrictions.

Jess Phillips, the Labour government's minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said: "More than two million people are estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the last year – a number that is appalling, frightening and we are determined to change.

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"That’s why one of our first acts against our ambitious manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is to launch new, strengthened domestic abuse protection orders. By bringing together the strongest elements of existing orders into a flexible order that covers all forms of domestic abuse and has no time limit, we’ll ensure more victims receive the robust protection they deserve."

Along with imposing exclusion zones, the orders can make positive requirements of abusers such as attending behaviour change programmes. Breaching the requirements of an order will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison. Family courts will also be able to impose tagging for up to 12 months in the most serious cases, something that previously could only be done by criminal courts or the police.

Another innovation is that a victims’ friends and family will be able to apply for an order on their behalf, which victims minister Alex Davies-Jones said would "reduce the pressure on victims". She added: "It takes tremendous courage for victims of domestic abuse to seek help. Our role in Government is to make this as straightforward as possible."

The new orders will be trialled by the British Transport Police, in Greater Manchester and three London boroughs with further pilots in Cleveland and North Wales early in 2025 prior to a national rollout.

The crime survey for England and Wales, carried out by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), estimated 2.3 million people aged 16 and over (1.6 million women and 712,000 men) experienced domestic abuse in the latest 12-month period. The findings indicated there was “no statistically significant change in the prevalence of domestic abuse experienced in the last year, compared with the previous year”.

Police recorded 851,062 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales in the year to March, down from 911,248 in the previous year, according to figures published on Thursday. This in part reflects “recent changes in police recording practices”, the ONS said. Domestic abuse-related prosecutions stood at 51,183 in England and Wales in the year to March, slightly down on the 51,288 recorded in the previous 12 months.