Domestic abuse legislation could be a ‘game-changer’

Domestic abuse legislation could be a ‘game-changer’

Under ‘bad character’ legislation, prosecutors are now able to put details of a defendant’s violent or abusive past before the court. And ‘hearsay’ evidence – such as video footage of a victim who is too scared to give evidence from the witness box – can also now be admissible.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Beechey said the new powers could be a ‘game-changer’ for domestic abuse prosecutions.

One of the major barriers to securing convictions for domestic abuse and violence, which so far this year has accounted for almost one in six crimes recorded in Jersey, is victims being unwilling to give evidence in court because they are terrified of their abusers, authorities say.

But the new suite of legal tools, introduced in recent weeks as part of a revamped Criminal Procedures (Jersey) Law, could change the landscape of investigations and court cases.

And Det Chief Insp Beechey said a source of ‘frustration’ for officers and prosecutors in the past had been the inadmissibility of evidence about a perpetrator’s previous convictions.

The detective said that if perpetrators knew their ‘bad character’ would be put before the court it could elicit ‘more guilty pleas’, meaning victims or witnesses would not have to go through the ordeal of giving live evidence in a trial.

Both ‘bad character’ and ‘hearsay’ legislation has been in place in the UK for many years. The admissibility of such evidence is not automatic and is instead treated on a case-by-case basis.

Asked how this might change investigations of domestic-abuse cases, Det Chief Insp Beechey said: ‘It could be a game-changer, particularly in domestic abuse cases.

‘The experience of the police and other agencies who work in the domestic-abuse space is that ongoing coercion and fear is a major deciding factor that will prevent victims both coming forward in the first place and also being willing to give a statement or testify in court. It is quite understandable for victims to be scared.

‘In terms of bad character, we as police officers will still have to secure enough evidence for a suspect to be charged but once at that stage, bad character may then be included to further support a case, which may lead to more guilty pleas or may lead to an increase in convictions.’

Reports of domestic abuse to the States police are increasing year on year. So far this year, the force have received 420 reports, almost ten a week, which accounts for 16% of all reported crime. In 2017 there were 329 reports (11%) and last year 466 (14%).

Tackling domestic abuse, which is the subject of an ongoing Safeguarding Partnership Board awareness campaign with the tag ‘Would you know it if you saw it?’, is one of the 12 priority areas for the States police. (News Focus: Page 6.)

Lawmakers, politicians and civil servants are currently working on a new domestic-abuse law that could, for the first time, specifically identify domestic abuse as a crime. It would mean perpetrators’ criminal records carry acknowledgement of a domestic abuse offence rather than just an ‘assault’ or ‘public order offence’.

Other proposed changes, outlined by Homes Affairs Minister Len Norman in an answer to a written States question, include adding more powers to tackle abuse that is not violent but ‘coercive and controlling’.

Mr Norman said the government had been committed to a ‘system-wide redesign of significant elements of the criminal justice system’, including the Criminal Procedures Law, bail laws and new sexual-offences legislation.

As reported in yesterday’s JEP, the introduction of legislation that would give authorities powers to exclude people accused of domestic abuse from their own homes even before conviction is still being considered.

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