A new policy in New Zealand will allow people in relationships to find out from the police if their partner has a history of violence, the New Zealand Herald reports. The policy, announced this week by the country's Justice and Police Ministers, is a creative attempt by government officials to combat the nation's record levels of domestic violence—the highest in the developed world. A similar program in the United Kingdom has seen some early success; Clare's Law was rolled out across England and Wales in early 2014, and, in the first 10 months, more than 1,300 disclosures were made by police to concerned citizens. But such programs are only ever a partial solution.
The New Zealand measure appears to be largely modeled after Clare's Law. Under that law, anyone concerned about a partner's potentially abusive behavior—including family members or friends of those in the relationship—can request information about the suspected abuser's criminal history from the police. Officials then decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not the risk of harm is great enough to release a person's record. But that doesn't mean the released records are public: Inquirers who share the information with the wider public could face prosecution.
To continue reading this article by Kate Wheeling, go to: www.psmag.com/politics-and-law/do-you-know-if-your-partner-has-a-violent-history
Comments (0)