Police begin training on new domestic abuse law

The Domestic Abuse Law will give new powers to the police to protect victims

Guernsey Police is starting training ahead of changes to the island's laws relating to domestic violence.

The Domestic Abuse Law (DAL) was approved by the States of Guernsey in the autumn and is expected to come into force in early 2025 after it is given Royal Assent, the force said.

In readiness, it said senior officers were being trained by the Crown's law officers on the new offences, powers and procedures needed to enforce the new legislation.

The DAL will give new powers to the police to protect victims of domestic abuse by bringing in additional offences around domestic abuse and new ones for child abuse and the publication of images.

'Complex area of new law'

An example is the new domestic abuse protection notices which, police said, would enable them to prevent someone from having contact with their victim for 72 hours, until that person could appear at court and given a protection order.

A spokesperson for Guernsey Police said: "This is a complex area of the new law that all of our officers will be receiving training on to ensure they fully understand how they work and can be used."

In October a lack of powers such as these were highlighted in an internal police email that was posted online.

The email criticised the training given to officers about charging for domestic abuse and said the organisation was "setting custody sergeants up to fail".