New Manx domestic abuse laws welcomed by chief constable

Gary Roberts said the new laws would give police more powers to tackle domestic abuse

New laws surrounding coercive and controlling behaviour will be "game changing" for police on the Isle of Man, the chief constable has said.

Parts of the Domestic Abuse Act 2020 are set to come into force in January and will give officers greater powers relating to domestic abuse.

Gary Roberts said many victims were not being physically assaulted, but were suffering from other forms of abuse.

Those included financial abuse and being kept away from family, he said.

Mr Roberts said the new powers would allow police officers to take perpetrators out of the circumstances they are in and "even house them in other places".

Officers would also be able to restrict their access to victims.

Coercive and controlling behaviour, which is a pattern of psychological abuse and intimidation used to harm and frighten a victim, has been a criminal offence in the UK since 2015.

'Reachable moments'

Mr Roberts made the comments after a review of a case where a man with schizophrenia killed his mother found gaps in support for domestic abuse victims on the Isle of Man.

The police chief said there had probably been "reachable moments" where a greater "professional curiosity" could have helped to uncover what had been going on.

"This was a young man who has been a high attainer, who was living in an environment where there was domestic abuse, alcohol abuse, there was coercive behaviour," he said.

Describing the circumstances as "sad and tragic" he said: "If the right questions had been asked other services, such as mine, could have intervened."

Mr Roberts said he hoped the legislation, which comes into force on 4 January, would give people more confidence to report any form of domestic abuse.

It was also important for anyone with concerns about friends or family to contact the authorities, he added.