Force's work on Claire's Law 'unacceptable' - PCC

The BBC reported that one woman had waited 57 days longer than she should have for a disclosure

The way Thames Valley Police has managed a scheme to let people know if their partner has a history of domestic violence "hasn't been acceptable", the area's police and crime commissioner has said.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - known as Clare's Law – was launched in 2014 to provide information within 28 days that could protect someone from being a victim of attack.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber said some responses had taken too long but added the force was making changes to improve.

Earlier this month, the BBC reported Thames Valley Police (TVP) took 85 days to reply to one woman's request, which revealed a man had been jailed for violence against women.

Clare's Law was named after Clare Wood, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend

"Undeniably, Thames Valley Police's performance on this hasn't been acceptable and it's been one of those issues that I've been challenging the force on," Mr Barber told the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel in Aylesbury on Friday.

Documents show TVP staff were previously relying on overtime to complete cases but that there had been "slight improvements" to the way responses had been completed over the last year.

"The bit that worries me the most is the timeliness [of responses] because clearly there's some criticality to these cases," Mr Barber added.

"If there's a risk and it is not disclosed, that's the entire point of the process."

Matthew Barber said the way Clare's Law has been managed in the Thames Valley "hasn't been acceptable"

Launched in 2014, Clare's Law was named after 36-year-old Clare Wood, from Greater Manchester, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009.

Ms Wood was strangled and set on fire at her home in Salford by George Appleton, who had a history of violence against women.

Her father, Michael Brown, campaigned for the law change and said he was convinced she would still have been alive had she known the full extent of Appleton's previous behaviour. Mr Brown died in 2020.

Ms Wood's daughter, Maddy, said last year she worried more lives could be lost because of the "poor" way the scheme had been managed nationally.

Jo Robb, a South Oxfordshire district councillor, said TVP risked letting victims down.

"We can talk about police on the beat as much as we like but unless we are responding to women who are asking for information about their partners in a timely way, we are actually completely failing in our duties," she said.