Police face domestic abuse resourcing 'challenge'

The new legislation was passed unanimously in the States

Police resourcing in Guernsey will be a "challenge" with more "boots on the ground" needed to make "best use" of new police powers for domestic abuse, according to outgoing police chief Ruari Hardy.

New domestic abuse legislation was passed unanimously in the States, which includes pre-charge bail, domestic abuse protection notices (DAPNs) and domestic abuse protection orders (DAPO).

But the force will not be getting any extra initial resources to help with the added powers and workload.

Deputy Sue Aldwell, the States' lead on domestic abuse, said it will be up to the incoming police chief how they "allocate resources".

Immediate restrictions

The new legislation will allow police to restrict the movement of offenders to safeguard any victims.

DAPNs are used to place immediate restrictions on perpetrators if senior officers has "reasonable grounds" to believe a person has been abusive to another person.

A DAPO is applied for through the courts and places restrictions and requirements on the perpetrator to protect victims from further abuse.

Pre-charge bail will allow police to enforce conditions while they investigate.

A lack of powers such as these were highlighted in an internal police email which was posted online, which criticised the training given to officers about charging for domestic abuse and said the organisation was "setting custody sergeants up to fail".

However, Deputy Aldwell said new legislation would address those concerns.

She said: "This has been worked on with the courts, it's been worked through with the police and it's been worked through with [charity] Safer to make sure all of those things that need to be in place are in place."

"We are making sure they will have all that they [the resourcing] need to take this forward.

Deputy Sue Aldwell said officials had worked with court and other agencies

Housing has also been raised as a concern by Deputy John Gollop, who said the legislation could be "resource hungry" and "accommodation is an issue".

He said: "I was saddened to hear that a charity which helped many people with alcohol abuse, which has a property at the top of the Grange in Town, may be obliged to close due to lack of funds.

"I would like another charity or maybe the States to lease or purchase that property as an opportunity maybe to house people who need emergency housing."

Naomi Woods, service lead at domestic abuse charity Safer, said accommodation would "continue" to be an issue.

She said: "Our refuge is full more often than it's not, and that is past the point of when someone is in crisis and needs refuge from a risk point of view.

"We have people that have to remain because there is no other accommodation for them to move on to.

"It will be an issue until there is more housing available. Unfortunately, it is not something that can be plucked out the air."

The new domestic abuse legislation will come into effect once it receives Royal Assent.