JERSEY could see up to 270 additional crimes recorded every year if a package of five new laws tackling violence against women and girls is approved – piling fresh pressure on a prison under “intense population pressures”.
The draft legislation, which was lodged by the Home Affairs Minister yesterday, aims to close “significant gaps in the legislative tools available to hold perpetrators to account”.
But documents accompanying the five draft laws acknowledge that the reforms will dramatically increase demand on States police, courts, victim support services, and La Moye Prison.
According to the States police’s own analysis, if all five draft laws come into force, “245 to 270 additional crimes are likely to be recorded in the second year of implementation” – an increase of around 8 to 9% in overall recorded crime.
The laws are being brought forward in response to the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce report, which exposed widespread abuse on the Island and public distrust in the system meant to tackle it.
The taskforce found that eight out of ten Islanders do not believe the government takes online abuse seriously, while nine out of ten do not believe the courts do.
The draft laws include plans to criminalise behaviours including cyber-flashing, revenge porn, deepfake sexual images, stalking, strangulation and threats of sexual violence.
One draft law creates a standalone offence of strangulation, recognising it as uniquely dangerous.
“Strangulation may be the second most common cause of stroke in women under 40”, the report states, adding that “50% of victims will have no visible external injury”.
Prior strangulation, it warned, is linked to a sevenfold increase in the risk of homicide.
Another law formally names stalking in Jersey law for the first time.
Between 2016 and 2021, police recorded 192 reports of stalking, yet only two convictions followed.
“Victims of stalking who participated in the Violence Against Women and Girls Taskforce research described feeling that they were powerless and that the police were unable to do anything to combat the abuse they were experiencing,” the accompanying report said.
The sexual offences amendments target intimate image abuse, including deepfake pornography.
“Intimate image abuse can be just as harmful as forms of offline violence. Research demonstrates that this form of abuse can have an enormous impact on the long-term mental health and emotional wellbeing of a victim,” the accompanying report said, highlighting a survey that showed more than one in ten victims felt suicidal after threats to share intimate images.
The domestic abuse amendments reintroduce emergency barring orders, allowing police to remove suspected abusers from a home before conviction.
The report stated that without these powers, “crucial opportunities for early police
intervention to protect victims and prevent domestic abuse situations from escalating are being missed”.
But concerns are also raised about the criminal justice system’s capacity to absorb the fallout of these new laws with the accompanying report admitting the prison is under “intense population pressures”.
La Moye is currently 92% full, and its Vulnerable Prisoner Unit – which houses most sexual offenders – has been running at around 95% occupancy, with just one bed available at the time of reporting.
Victim support services are also struggling, with officials warning of the need for new clinical leadership to cope with rising demand.
“It is important to recognise that demands on the system will only continue to rise as new
legislation is brought forward,” the report said.
“This increase in demand on the criminal justice system, as well as the impact on associated supportive services, including third-sector services, will necessarily require appropriate resourcing to ensure safe practice.”
Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat said the “package of legislation provides a robust framework from which we will be able to hold perpetrators of intimate image abuse, stalking, strangulation and threats of sexual violence to account and creates meaningful protection for victims of these crimes”.
The States Assembly is due to debate the five new laws in February.
