‘Claire’s Law’/false sense of security

[Thetellyisjelly]

Not a taat so much as something that comes up repeatedly on mumsnet.
Whenever there is a thread about a new
boyfriend who is accused by an ex of being violent/ abusive/ aggressive, posters will recommend that the poster requests a Claire’s Law search before they proceed with the relationship. Good advice, and I realise that this law is a brilliant piece of legislation that ultimately protects women.
Although this will flag up some crimes that have been reported to police , aibu to think that a clear Claire’s Law search does not mean a clear slate when it comes to a man’s history (as is often implied) .. it simply means unreported . Given that so many victims of abuse and domestic violence don’t report, aibu to think that It’s important to understand that Claire’s law has limitations?

Well, it's much like a DBS isn't it?

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42920020 has a good article about the law.

I think it's a good attempt to make an effort to help but I doubt it does really, maybe provides false reassurance in the best occasions. I mean if you feel your partner is likely to be violent then that's the time to leave, not ask the police what they think, I mean if it comes back theres been no successful prosecutions is that really a reason to stay with someone who scares you? Likewise if they've been violent to you already then you already know they're likely to be violent to you again... so even if police do make a disclosure then ultimately it's information toy already know.

According to the article they've found unfortunately that even when the police try to disclose information regards a criminal conviction for violence that the partners typically refuse to come to the police station to hear it.

People stay in abusive relationships for complicated reasons, I'm not sure this law addresses any of them...

Well common sense tells you that really doesn’t it? If the crime is never reported then why would it show up?

It isn’t a false sense of security....

My ex if I had done a clares law request would have come up clean. His current and future girlfriends if they do one it will come up with a horrifying history.

People need to remember it's only good once someone has been caught

Also I think there are so many different systems/ crimes that sometimes stuff isn’t connected to the right individual. I called police, asking for the crime number of a DV incident which had happened to me years before... they couldn’t find it. I had to be really pushy and insist they look for it.

I don't think anyone believes that a man can't be an abuser just because he has no criminal history or that you should ignore rdd flags. (so in that sense a negative result is meaningless). It's more like if he does have a history then you know for a fact he's trouble.

We use it at work (police) and have helped so so so many women. So of course it has limitations but completely useful

I really wonder how it works, ex has recently got let out after having his convictions from 4 women over turned. So would he still show up for all he had ever been convicted or do those convictions just drop off the world.

If they do it leaves him with two domestic disturbance charges vs what should’ve been a minimum of years locked up.

Obviously it all has to be taken with a pinch of salt and really if you ever feel the need to check a law like this the relationship itself probably isn’t healthy in the first place.

Well common sense tells you that really doesn’t it? If the crime is never reported then why would it show up?

This ^^

Well common sense tells you that really doesn’t it? If the crime is never reported then why would it show up

and the police would explain that as well!

I recently met Michael Brown recently - Clare's father - he was such a lovely man - at least he did something positive and made things a bit safer!

If you have to ask, then chances are the relationship is doomed.

Other people can also make a request on your behalf. For instance a mother who is not sure about her daughter's new partner. Social workers, IDVA's etc can all make a request that someone be told about a person's past.

But yes, it is only as good as the information held by the police. But it's a start and better than nothing. Convictions over turned or offenses not charged can be declared if deemed to be appropriate BTW.

The exes who abused me won't have anything on file. I had police involvement with three men (one has passed away so there's only two others this could be useful for anyway). But I never pushed for convictions because I knew the evidence I had was useless. This means there would be nothing on a report if anyone does a CL on either of them, doesn't it. And that's the trouble. If men like a PPs ex can be inside for a while because of charges even if they're then dropped, they sound like they should have something on their record. But there probably won't be so there's no chance my exes would have any warnings. And that's why some people end up going to the word of mouth line. Which is risky (libellous claims) and can come back to kick you further into the ground.

My friend did a CL on her ex last year and it showed up all sorts of violence. Thing is, myself and her other friends weren't surprised. Some people, OK you should judge but some people just do come across like bad news. And seem to wave their string of red flags.