UKC

Well this is news to me! I haven't heard of this before... How would you feel if your new (or even current) partner went snooping to the police to get the dirt on you?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25077115

I imagine consent from the chap is required first? Does this swing both ways, i.e. could I potentially check up on a woman?

And dare I ask... does anyone here have minor convictions from their past that current partners don't know about?

In reply to GrendeI:

Sounds ok to me

In reply to GrendeI:

Flipping it round for a moment, what events have taken place to warrant the introduction of this law?

I know it's easy to trot out the 'you shouldn't have a problem if you've nothing to hide' argument and that that's very easily dismissed, but in this instance I think it's reasonable to be able to find out whether a partner has a history of violence.



I've a feeling that if someone has convictions for domestic abuse then they're (unsurprisingly!) perhaps not going to be that willing to want to share that with a new partner.

In reply to GrendeI: Is there an app for this so people can check on nights out?

In reply to Tall Clare:

It's odd though, isn't it? Are You supposed to check on a partner before they move in - if so, does that mean anyone can check up on anyone? If you check up after they move in and you find they do have previous ... what then?

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:


I guess it means you're informed and able to make a decision...

It's a really grey area for me - if we have the right to check up on one another in this way where does this stop, but on the other hand I'd want to know if a partner had a record for this sort of thing.

In reply to Tall Clare:


I guess a series of attacks on women by their partners who have a history of violence against women, but the female in the relationship wasn't aware of this.


I believe so too! Of course anyone entering into a relationship with someone who has a history of violence or abuse should either be told by their partner, warned by a friend or in this case (which I guess be considered in extremis) contact the police for a report.


Naturally, my concern is how would this affect the trust in your relationship if you suddenly find out your partner has background checked you (vetted, for want of a better word), when you have no convictions at all. Although I hope any reasonable person would require significant cause before taking that route. I just see this as open to potential abuse.

In reply to Tall Clare:

It is an interesting point as to whether blokes can also check? It seems a perfectly sensible suggestion but does make you wonder if it will become acceptable to do a full back ground check on a new partner.

In reply to Andy DB:

It looks like either party in a relationship, or even a concerned person outside that relationship, can ask the police for more information. However, the police decide whether it's necessary to pass any information on and who is given the information:

http://tinyurl.com/nt97pcf

In reply to GrendeI:
Anybody who believes that they may be at risk of domestic abuse can check, the sex of the person, or nature of the relationship is not the primary factor. The police force that deals with the request is required to interview the requestor (?) and ascertain that there is a satisfying requirement for the information to be released.
The often quoted example of this is someone moving in with a new partner, who has heard from people that they have a 'past' and wants to check this out. It should also be noted that most abusive partners tend to follow a pattern of alienating friends and family thus removing the support network that we might feel is 'normal'.

In reply to GrendeI:

Surely this is for people who are already together but then get an inkling that all is not right. Then they can do a check and make the decision to bail before anything serious happens.

E

In reply to GrendeI:

In theory, convictions are in the public domain already, via the Court records.

Finding out about a particular person may be very difficult though.

Allowing anyone at all to find out seems a tad outrageous, as does them finding out about incidents that don't result in conviction.

People are then asked to keep the information confidential but is this enforcable?

I'm not convinced that people trust the police enough these days to allow them these very fudgish powers of discretion, it moves away from people knowing their civil rights back to the police just making it up as they go along.

In reply to GrendeI:



One could just it down to the other person's past experiences, or them being a cautious person, or perhaps more wary than they need to be?

I've got to know somebody over the past couple of years who's had an abusive boy friend, and having seen how much it's warped her (in the kindest possible way), I'd not have a problem with anybody checking me out. Even if they'd not had an abusive relationship, they might know somebody who had.