What is Clare’s Law?                            

Clare’s law is a scheme whereby the police are allowed to disclose details of a partners abusive past to an individual.  We hope the information below helps to clarify Clare’s Law. 

Clare’s Law, or the Domestic Violence Disclosure scheme has two functions 

• ‘Right to ask’ which enables someone to ask the police about a partner’s previous history of domestic violence or violent acts. 
• ‘Right to know’ where the police can proactively disclose information in prescribed circumstances.

 The Domestic Violence Protection Orders approach has two stages: 

Where the police have reasonable grounds for believing that a perpetrator has used or threatened violence towards the victim and the victim is at risk of future violent behaviour, they can issue a Domestic Violence Protection Notice on the spot, provided they have the authorisation of an officer at Superintendent rank. 

• The magistrates’ court must then hear the case for the Protection Order itself – which is the second step – within 48 hours of the Notice being made. If granted, the Order may last between a minimum of 14 days and a maximum of 28 days. This strikes the right balance between immediate protection for the victim and judicial oversight. 

 To make a request for information from Derbyshire Police Force, please click use the link below:

Clare's Law request