Violent partners to face new powers - News in brief - Evening Standard
       

Violent partners to face new powers

Courts will be given greater powers to slap restraining orders on violent people who beat their partners, the Home Office has said.

From next month, abusers accused of any criminal offence could find themselves hit with a court injunction.

Judges will even be able to impose an order if the defendant is acquitted.

At the moment only those convicted of two distinct offences - harassment or putting someone in fear of violence - can be hit with an order, unless victims take a separate civil action.

Breaking the terms of an order can lead to a jail term of up to five years.

Home Office minister Lord West said: "Domestic violence is a devastating crime which impacts across all communities.

"The additional powers announced ... will also help victims in need of immediate protection and spare them the need to take separate civil action."

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