Lives at risk due to Clare's Law delays - daughter

Maddy Wood described Clare’s Law as her mother’s "legacy"

The daughter of a woman who was murdered by her ex-partner has said she fears more people will be killed because of “poor” handling of an abuse prevention scheme set up in her mother's memory.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, known as Clare’s Law, gives people the right to ask police if their partner has an abusive past.

It was introduced 10 years ago after a campaign by the father of Clare Wood, 36, who was strangled and set on fire by George Appleton in 2009.

A BBC investigation found some people who asked for a background check on their partner have been waiting hundreds of days for a response. Forces are expected to respond within 28 days.

Maddy Wood, who was 10 when her mother was murdered, told the BBC she worried “poor execution” of the legislation by police forces “could potentially result in the loss of more lives”.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner said the findings were "seriously concerning" and warned opportunities to protect victims were "clearly being missed".

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) admitted there was “more to do" to protect people at risk of abuse.

Maddy Wood, pictured as a child with her mother Clare, said she feared more people would be killed by violent partners

Clare made several complaints to police about Appleton, who she met over Facebook, before he killed her at her home in Salford.

Her family later learned her killer, who took his own life, had a history of violence against women and was jailed for three years in 2002 for harassment.

Maddy, who lives in Marsden, West Yorkshire, said the "shocking" nature of her mother's death was compounded by "knowing it could have been prevented, had she had the knowledge she needed".

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She added: "That’s like an innocence-shattering moment. Things were never the same after that.

“I had so many moments of pure rage, pure upset, pure devastation and realising that I’ve been robbed of my mum in the present but in the future as well.”

Maddy described Clare’s Law as her mother’s “legacy,” adding: “Her memory does live on every time a disclosure is done, every time someone has an informed decision to make and leaves the situation that's dangerous.

"I like to think that's my mum watching over a little bit."

There were 45,344 Clare’s Law applications made in England and Wales in 2022-23, a rise of 300% in five years, according to figures provided by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS.)

That total comprises 27,419 “right to ask” requests - in which a person asks police about their partner - and 17,925 “right to know” applications, in which a force makes the proactive decision to warn someone about their partner’s history to protect them from potential abuse.

However, thousands of applications were declined and some did not receive a police response for months.

Forces released information in 38% of cases in 2022-23, a drop from 48% in 2018-19.

In Freedom of Information requests, the BBC asked 44 police forces about the Clare’s Law applications they had received since the scheme was launched.

Thirty-eight forces responded with data, of which 17 were able to provide more detailed figures about disclosure rates and response times.

Every force which provided relevant data had taken longer than the 28-day limit to respond to some applications. Some took more than a year to respond to members of the public who had asked for disclosures about their partner.

Bedfordshire Police took 223 days to respond to one "right to ask" application in 2023 - the longest wait among forces which provided data for last year.

All the forces which supplied figures on disclosure rates rejected the majority of requests for information under Clare’s Law last year, figures show.

Cleveland Police made disclosures in only 32% of cases in 2023 and North Yorkshire Police released information in only 34%.

Clare's father Michael Brown, who died in 2020, campaigned for the law change

Clare Wood made repeated complaints to the police about George Appleton before he killed her

Maddy told the BBC it was “frustrating” to see Clare’s Law was “not being used to the correct potential”.

She said: "The police have the tools and resources, but I don't think they're necessarily executing it to the full extent.

"There's no way women should be waiting longer than the 28-day period.”

She added: "If current demand isn't being met then I worry that the more awareness we put out there, the worse the workload is going to get and the less they're going to be able to handle the amount of disclosures.

"More women are going to die and more men are going to die."

'Seriously concerning'

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said Clare's Law disclosures were "potentially lifesaving".

She said rejected or delayed applications were "dangerous and could give "a false sense of security".

“A decade after the introduction of Clare’s Law, it is seriously concerning to see such inconsistency, with opportunities to protect victims clearly being missed," she added.

Ms Jacobs called for "strong leadership and prioritisation within forces to ensure national consistency in the policing of domestic abuse".

Maddy was 10 when her mother Clare was murdered

North Yorkshire Police said it responded to all requests and had a “rigorous assessment process” to determine whether an application should lead to a disclosure.

Clare Crossan, the force’s lead inspector for domestic abuse and stalking, said: “If there’s no information or no offending history, we won’t make a disclosure but we still will reach out to that person that’s requested the information and have a discussion around what’s actually caused them to make that request.”

Figures for the last five years show North Yorkshire Police took up to 280 days to respond to Clare’s Law disclosure requests.

Insp Crossan said the increase in applications over the past decade had created “a challenge in terms of resourcing and meeting that demand”.

She added officers had to balance “complex and multiple needs” and ensure disclosures did not put victims “at further risk of harm”.

Bedfordshire Police said it was "performing well above the average for both 'right to know' and 'right to ask' disclosures".

Det Supt Emma Pitts, the force's head of public protection, said disclosures had "significantly increased" after recent changes to its processes.

“Clare’s Law is vital in both preventing domestic abuse and reducing reoffending and we will continue to raise awareness of it, while supporting those that submit a request," she added.

Insp Clare Crossan of North Yorkshire Police said the force had a “rigorous assessment process”

Last year HMICFRS inspectors warned three police forces - Durham, Merseyside and Thames Valley - over the length of time they were taking to respond to Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme requests.

In January, Wiltshire Police admitted people had come to harm as a result of failings over the force's processing of 3,582 applications under the scheme.

There have also been criticisms of the manner in which some forces respond to Clare’s Law requests.

A woman who received a disclosure about her ex-husband in 2019 after asking West Yorkshire Police for a background check told the BBC the process was “an uncomfortable experience”.

Beth, not her real name, said she was invited to a police station for an interview in “the kind of room that you’d see people being interviewed in when they’re in custody”.

"I was made to feel like I was doing something wrong,” she added. “That I was doing something malicious. That I was causing trouble basically.”

Beth said: "This piece of legislation is being let down by the police and their application of it.

"It could be a really powerful tool for change but we are reliant on the police using it in the right way and that’s not happening at the moment, certainly not in West Yorkshire."

'Important tool'

West Yorkshire Police said its procedures were "aligned to the Home Office statutory guidance" on Clare's Law.

"The force works closely with partners to consider whether a disclosure should be made, including what information will be disclosed and what additional safeguarding action needs to be taken," a spokesperson added.

The NPCC said it was “working with forces to share best practice and support improvements”.

Louisa Rolfe, the council’s assistant commissioner, said Clare’s Law had been “implemented rapidly with forces variously innovating and adapting existing disclosure processes” and “we know there is more to do to ensure potential victims receive a consistent service”.

She added the process required “thorough searches of police databases and careful consideration” and “not every application will meet the criteria for disclosure”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Clare’s Law is an important tool designed to keep people safe and we expect the police to respond within 28 days.

"We are working closely with the NPCC, College of Policing and specific forces to better understand the barriers in applying the statutory guidance consistently across forces."

Additional reporting by Jonathan Fagg

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