Clare's Law: 109 requests about partner's abuse history

More than 100 requests have been made to police in the past three weeks by people who want to find out if their partner has a history of abuse.

Since its launch, the Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS), also known as Clare's Law, received more than five requests a day.

The scheme is a formal route for those who want to find out if their partner has a conviction for domestic abuse.

During a pilot scheme almost 40% of requests resulted in disclosures.

The scheme was launched across Scotland on 1 October following a successful six-month pilot project in Aberdeen and Ayrshire.

Since then DSDAS has received 109 requests for disclosure from people who suspect their partner may have an abusive past.

The initiative is also known as Clare's Law, after Clare Wood who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 2009.

Clare's father, Michael Brown, has campaigned for people to have the right to ask for information about partners and for the police and other agencies to have the power to tell someone if there are grounds for concern.

Speaking at the Tackling Domestic Abuse Conference in Edinburgh, Deputy Chief Constable Rose Fitzpatrick said: "The first few weeks of the scheme have been very positive and it continues to highlight the everyday challenges we face in tackling domestic abuse in Scotland."