Bartholomew Dalton in Criminal Law Week on Domestic Violence Protection Orders
20 Aug 2024
Bartholomew Dalton has provided a legal commentary in Criminal Law Week on how Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) are being dealt with by Magistrates’ Courts.
DVPOs came into force in 2014 and are designed to give protected people a further period of protection after a Domestic Violence Protection Notice has been issued in the immediate aftermath of violent domestic abuse.
In his article, Bartholomew comments on the appeal case of Chief Constable of Cleveland Police v Jemmett, writing that it is “both a surprise to see an appeal about a DVPO and, at the same time, not a surprise at all“.
He goes on: “Based on my own personal experience, and what is said anecdotally, justice is not being done during many DVPO applications and respondents are simply not being given a fair hearing. There is a perception that the court process is a rubber-stamping exercise.”
The article lists the various practical problems with DVPO applications as they are currently being dealt with by the courts. He argues that these issues compound each other, and are then, in turn, compounded by the limits of the appeals process.
